Dilemma
by Hellmouth23
Summary: Home is where the heart is and Jack thinks he's finally found it or has he? M Rated JATE fic.
1. Chapter 1

**DILEMMA**

**Now moi was a tad hesitant posting this one for the sole reason that some of my other fics are still in the "work in progress" stage but this one might go till 10 to 15 chapters at the most, and a majority of it has already been planned and typed up. Anyway here it is and I hope you guys will like it.**

**P.S. A big thank you goes to Lauren (jater4life) for helping me with this fic (storyline wise). **

"I'm sorry honey I can't. I've got all these papers to grade and judging by the amount stacked on my table at the moment it doesn't look like I'm gonna be finished within the next few minutes." the blonde woman spoke on the other end of the phone making the person on the receiving end let out a huff of annoyance at being turned down for what seemed like the millionth time.

"C'mon Sarah just one night with me, and dinner in your favourite restaurant as well." the man pleaded one last time with the woman he had been growing more distant from over the past few months, until last night when he decided to finally put his foot down and have a talk with her about it. In response she mutually agreed to maybe going out for a change the very next night, but now here he was sitting alone again and basically right back to square one of where this relationship was and where it seemed to be heading, no matter what he did to try and fix it.

"I'm so sorry Jack but I can't. Maybe anoth…." she started off in a somewhat enthusiastic manner to mainly show her concern for their relationship, but all she got next in response was the abrupt, but expected noise of the phone being hung up and slammed in a way to convey their frustration due to the obvious fact of putting their faith into thinking that their relationship could still have a chance. All she could do now was live with the consequences of her actions.

After he had gotten of the phone with his wife of three months only, he threw the phone onto the table and then took a few moments to try and get his anger under control that was until the waiter came up and asked him if he wanted anything else and if he was ready to order as well.

In return all the waiter got was a brief smile and then a couple of bills being shoved forcefully into his hand, and with that the Doctor was off with one thing and destination in mind.

Fifteen minutes later and he was pulling his car up at the nearest Bar looking to possibly have a good time with no strings attached whatsoever. He felt that in some ways he was deserving of it, mainly because of the way he was being treated by the woman he thought he would be spending his time with at this very moment.

_Live in the now Jack, she's not here and you're a fool to believe she ever will be,_ a voice spoke out in the back of his head, forcing him to do nothing but believe that because as he looked around at the desolate atmosphere around him, he knew it was true.

So with that in mind he raised his left hand and slowly removed the gold ring which he once wore on his forefinger, in a sign of promise and commitment to the one person he thought would show him the same in return. _What a waste,_ he bitterly said to himself as he eyed the ring which now lay within his palm, still reminding him of the love he thought had existed, but sadly not anymore and with that he allowed it to fall from his hand. In a way letting go of all of it once and for all.

He walked through the front doors and was immediately met with bustling crowd which lingered in there along with every other element. The smoke, the smell of beer and all he did in response was smile as an immediate sense of nostalgia hit him at witnessing the scene in front of him. Back when he was in college, a scene like this would be a weekly thing for him, mainly to work off the stress of things like mid terms and all, but his reason for coming here now was of a completely different cause. One that he wasn't sure he could and wanted to fix for that matter.

"So what's it gonna be?" the bartender asked in a monotone voice, clearly showing the stress of a day's work.

"Just give me the strongest thing you got" Jack replied as he settled himself lazily over the only vacant barstool. Who ever thought that a Tuesday night could be such a busy one, he thought to himself as he briefly looked around the place full of people, two of which who were looking at him in an odd way, almost as if they were checking him out. A thing he felt weirded out at with at first, but being the kind of person he was, he didn't want to be rude so he just offered them both a nod and a friendly smile. Both of which they responded to, more so the woman sitting next to the humble yet thoroughly captivating brunette.

"Here ya go" the bartender spoke while offering the good Doctor a pint of their finest and strongest beer much to his requests.

"Thanks." Jack simply replied while rubbing the sides of his head on a slow and soothing fashion in an effort to hopefully ease the mind numbing which was an obvious result of the emotional stress he had been going through these past few months.

"Hey" a voice suddenly appeared and announced itself at his right side. At first he thought about just ignoring it but the fact that the voice repeated itself in an enthusiastic manner again made him finally give in and allow the person his visual attention for the time being, and once he did he suddenly felt that it might have not been a bad idea after all. She was not bad looking at first glance, with the way her thick, brown wavy hair cascaded down a little past her shoulders, and the graceful smile she wore over her expression. She had the most piercing green eyes he had ever seen too.

Maybe talking to him wouldn't be such a bad idea after all, Jack mused to himself in more so relief of being able to talk to someone.

"So what's a guy like you doing here?" the brunette inquired while looking ridiculously upon him, especially with the way he was dressed.

"Well what's a beautiful woman like you doing here by yourself?" he boldly offered and smiled when his response evoked a furious blush from her.

"Actually I'm not alone. I'm here because my best friend literally dragged me out of the house." she stressed while smiling and rolling her eyes in a fashion that elicited a warm smile from the Doctor as well.

"So you wanna meet her?" she then asked and the minute she had said it, his smile disappeared along with it.

_Are you really ready to do something like this,_ he said to himself as the brunette waited for his answer.

"Uh maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea. I mean the mood I'm in right now, I doubt I'll qualify as good company." he replied while trying to mask his slight discomfort with the situation. However the sheer determination in the woman's character refused to give up at this point, so with that she put on her best pleading look, which couldn't help but come off a cute and irresistible way to the Doctor, and all he could do in response was nod in an agreeing manner while his eyes were locked with the woman in an almost trance like state.

_What the hell is happening to me_ , the Doctor truly wondered never having felt this wave of excitement before.

From that point on nothing else figured in his mind, not even when the woman had introduced him to her friend.

"So Jack what do you do?" the smaller woman asked him while taking a brief look at the Doctor's form while he thought of a suitable way to come at this without sounding boring, like most of his other friends had labeled him as, even his own wife at one point.

However as he looked up at the two people in front of him showing him nothing but their interest, and he suddenly felt strangely wanted and with that he allowed everything to just come out, feeling that they might just accept him for who he was.

"I'm a Doctor, Spinal surgeon to be more precise." he revealed and just at that very moment they were all distracted by his phone going off. He reluctantly pulled it out of his pocket to check the display and when he did, he felt a new wave of pain and realization hit him again.

"Excuse me" Jack politely announced to the both of them and they nodded in response while he walked off the corner of the Bar.

"He's nice." they both spoke out at the same time and following that they both shared a smile with each other, but the woman next to the brunette had other intentions in mind when her eyes couldn't seem to focus on anything else but him.

(Meanwhile)

"Jack please call her back. She just called me in tears moments ago." the older woman on the other line screamed out in a painful manner.

"Yeah well what about me Mom. What about what I want. I'm so fucking sick and tired of sitting back and letting people walk all over me. I'VE HAD IT!!" he replied screaming out the last bit and catching nearly everyone's attention in the Bar, including the two people still sitting at the table talking about him.

"Hey is everything okay?" the rather concerned brunette asked as he came back over to the table rubbing his temples to help wash away the pain that had managed to return once again.

"Yeah I'll be fine I just…" he started off but was then cut off by the anxious smaller woman sitting beside Kate who really wanted to voice her friendly concern for him judging by what she had just been a witness to.

"Why don't we get out here and head off somewhere else!!" Jane suggested while trying to avert her gaze from the brunette who was giving her the look of nothing but a firm warning.

"What did you guys have in mind?" the Doctor immediately replied surprising the both of them response, more so the brunette.

"Kate and I share an apartment not too far from here. Maybe we could just go back there and hang out. Without any distractions of course." The rather perky woman suggested, putting a lot of emphasis on the last part in an effort to not only ease his stress, but to also get him to agree with what her body was literally humming for.

"Well all I can say is lead the way!" Jack replied with a smile which managed to knock the wind out of Kate even more, but she managed to quickly recover from it and resume with trying to keep a level head and also keep her pushy best friend Jane in check cause she knew how her mind worked, especially when a gorgeous man was involved.

_Tonight was gonna be a night he wouldn't forget in the slightest,_ Jane on the other hand said to herself as she and Kate vacated the Bar with Jack in tow.

* * *

**If you guys like it then chapter 2 will be up by monday at the latest. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter**** 2**

**As promised here it is and thanks for the lovely feedback guys.**

It was at least mid day when he decided to wake himself and brace the new day that shone ever so brightly through the off beige curtains of the bedroom he was currently in. Waking not just him but also the other person who now lay beside him much to his genuine surprise or more so shock of what this obviously meant.

What the hell happened last night?

In an effort to not wake them he carefully manoeuvred himself off the bed in fear, but on the way he accidentally kicked the person's foot and woke them up as a result.

"Sorry." Jack apologised with a friendly smile while wondering why he suddenly became so uncomfortable around this person when they uncovered themselves from beneath the sheets. Although it could have been the fact that the person was stark nude and upon brief observation so was he.

_Shit. _

"Morning." the woman drowsily offered with a dazzling smile and a raise of the eyebrows to suggest the sheer satisfaction she had surprisingly received from the Good Doctor last night. She had never had sex as good as that and with staring into the eyes of that very man who made that fantasy possible, she found her body wanting him again, but before she could physically follow through with it Jack suddenly moved off the bed to retrieve his scattered clothes, in the meantime giving the brunette a good view of his naked and surely irresistible butt. The very butt she remembered wrapping her legs around the previous night as the Good Doctor fucked her with an unimaginable fury again and again.

"Jack?" Kate felt the need to then question when the tall man turned to face her with an unreadable expression. However Kate couldn't seem to resist sneaking a quick peek at what Jack's current stance was showing, particularly the part of him that still managed to make her wide eyed.

_The man was well endowed__ and he surely knew how to use it to his benefit_, Kate ruefully thought to herself already growing aroused at the very thought of what unexpectedly happened last night.

"I…." Jack started out but was cut short by his beeper going off and he was thankful that he found it before Jane woke up as well.

"I gotta go." Jack then proposed when he briefly read the message and then quickly resumed with finding what he could of his clothes, leaving Kate with no option but to begrudgingly follow through and help the Good Doctor out.

Ten minutes later and Jack was fully dressed and ready to go, but Kate now dressed in a bathrobe first insisted the offering of a good cup of coffee as an apology though also as a silent thank you for last night of which Jack just offered a surprisingly shy smile and an audible nod to show that the feeling was perhaps mutual on some level.

"See ya." Jack shyly offered and then let himself out giving Kate the clear impression that he wouldn't be seeing her or Jane anytime soon. To a certain extent she couldn't really blame the Good Doctor so with that she went on with her day too, and it was just a matter of time before Jane's constant moaning of not having a tumble in the hay with the Good Doctor, made it feel like things had gone back to normal

When was it she didn't pine over a drop dead gorgeous man, especially a highly successful Doctor. For Jane that was like a 1 in a million opportunity and Kate couldn't deny but relate to the golden odds as well. They were both definitely stricken by one Jack Shepherd.

Was he?

"Dr. Shepherd your 3.15 appointment is still waiting and your wife is on line one. She's been calling a lot today" Was the welcome he received the moment he stepped foot in the bustling environment he used to regard as the career he always wanted to pursue.

"Uh, thanks Kathy and put my wife through." He requested almost as an afterthought, honestly not in the mood to deal with what he predicted he would be bombarded with the moment he put that phone to his ear. However he did with a sigh and couldn't help the wave of stress and exhaustion that forcibly possessed his entire being once again.

"Sarah, I was busy with some things alright and besides since when do you care about my business." Jack hissed not even caring that his receptionist was right in front hearing everything.

"I think I have a right to know when my husband doesn't answer any of my calls." She shouted and in turn fuelling Jack's anger.

"Well, I didn't really have a reason to call someone who constantly chooses their fucking work over me." He defended himself in an equally harsh tone that attracted next to everyone's attention in the Hospital at that moment.

"What the hell is wrong with you Jack? Why are you attacking me?" she requested in an equally frustrated tone and manner willing Jack to sigh and give into his patient, good natured persona.

"Fine, look why don't we talk things over dinner tonight and maybe we……." He barely had the chance to offer the olive branch before Sarah cut him off with another excuse of having to pull another all nighter. A response he immediately answered by slamming the phone on it's receiver and walking towards his office without an explanation to offer to anyone.

Once he reached the private confines of his office he locked the door shut and sat in his extravagantly constructed chair that had built in massagers and everything to soothe the areas that couldn't seem to dissipate, but they gradually did when he allowed his mind to think of her, more so a certain green eyed brunette he couldn't seem to stop picturing.

Granted what happened later on wasn't planned and it was still admittedly blurry to him but he knew a part of him didn't seem to regret the possibility of what might have happened last night. One night where nothing else mattered other than himself and his needs.

After allowing his mind to go in depth with endless thoughts of her, he pulled himself out of it and pulled out his cell phone to order in some takeout. Hoping that food might take his mind off all this, but the moment he pulled his phone out, a piece of paper fell out as well. Immediately fulfilling his curiosity, he inspected what was scribbled on the piece of paper.

_Hey Jack. Had a wonderful time last night and if at anytime you feel the world is weighing too hard on you, "cum" and see us. _

_555-076542_

_Kate__xx_

He immediately laughed out loud at the rueful use of words and at the same time physically controlled the surfacing ache in his nether regions at the visual.

_Who needs food when I could have something like that to take my mind off things_, Jack told himself and then dialled a number a part of him was still screaming out "why". However the one lesson he learned was that making other people happy by being something they wanted you to be honestly got you nothing but disappointment and misery in return. He needed to start looking out for himself and his needs once in a while.

After getting off the phone much to his amusement when he could literally hear Jane squealing like a little girl in the background, but never the less he got through the conversation with a relatively straight face and checked one last time to see if it was okay, and if he wasn't intruding in on their time.

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"Oh my God Kate, you know what this means right?" Jane squealed in elation but her intention was made clear to Kate and she couldn't honestly deny that she herself was excited. That she was gonna see and probably have a hopefully extended replay of last night's events.

She was excited, maybe even more than Jane was.

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(Later that day)

He was running a half hour late due to being caught up in having to fill in for Doctor at the last minute but he texted Kate and assured her that he would still be over. Jane in the meantime went about preparing dinner and making sure that things were done to perfection. At one point she proposed breaking out the secret stash which merely consisted of elements that Kate knew for a fact that Jack would have no interest in, so with some words of forceful encouragement Jane grudgingly put back the "toys" and kept things clean for the time being.

Before he could leave his office he was stopped by the ringing of his office telephone and instead of answering it he just let the machine take it this time. Not even bothering to think whether it was Sarah possibly looking to fix things between them. Much to her bad luck she had already sealed the fate of their marriage when she chose something over him for the second time.

Twenty minutes later and he was pulling up in front of the address Kate had affirmed him of earlier on the phone. After turning the ignition off her retrieved hold of the bottle of champagne he had managed to get on the way here. Not really knowing what to bring along on such an occasion, but he resorted to the traditional in the end and picked out one of the finest and relatively expensive brands.

With that in hand he walked towards the front door and barely two knocks later, he was adorned with Kate's presence and seconds later Jane literally popped out of nowhere, immediately hugging the Good Doctor without hesitation and even branching to be more daring in planting a kiss upon his cheek.

Kate moved to apologise for Jane's slightly inappropriate actions at first but was wordlessly stopped half way by Jack's big smile in response to the surprising welcome. It somehow comforted her to know that Jack was already easing into the situation but at the same time she grew slightly jealous that Jane was the one making him smile.

_Jane'__s your friend, remember and maybe she needs this right now_, Kate firmly reminded herself even though she started to obviously feel something for the man before her.

Dinner had gotten off to a great start with them exchanging stories they had experienced in their lives and by the end they were all sat on the sofa half sober in the living room watching a movie. Jane and Kate on either side of Jack and his arms casually looped around both of them, but Kate took great opportunity of the position and planted herself a little nearer to Jack. Itching with every fibre of her being to touch the bulge showing ever so proudly through Jack's dress pants, but in an effort to not draw attention she contained herself, but still attempted to exaggerate her fear and deliberately brush across the area whenever a scary moment of the film came on.

Jack on the other hand played the field fairly neutral between the two, but Kate's oddly frequent brushing against his crotch area filled him with suspicion. Although he wasn't about to deny being played with in that way, and in an effort to return the favour he quickly checked to see if Jane was still awake and when he was visually assured that she wasn't, he took the plunge and played the game by slowly leaning his face towards Kate's neck. Teasingly nuzzling the surface and evoking a predicted gasp out of the brunette, and with that verbal form of encouragement elicited, Jack continued on with his ministrations. Planting a dizzying path of kisses along the length of her gladly arching neck. Breaking Kate's resolve with each kiss made with every intention of doing more than just that.

Feeling like she couldn't take the teasing any longer Kate turned her face towards Jack, immediately allowing for their lips to connect in a kiss that grew heated and passionate within seconds of it's initiation.

"Mmmm Jack." Kate gasped as he plied her mouth open with his tongue to silence her and allow him the chance to experience something he himself never knew he had, but his body wouldn't let him pull away from it for some reason.

They spent the next few minutes like that, just devouring each other's mouths in a competing passion that neither one knew they had but all they wanted was more, though Kate still managed to rip herself much to both her and Jack's reluctance, but she knew how much Jane liked him as well and the last thing she wanted to do was jeopardise that friendship.

"Jack I…." Kate attempted to explain but Jack cut her off with another kiss making the intentions of his present wanting pretty clear, and Kate wanted to give in so bad, feeling even worse when Jack physically urged her to feel what she was doing to him. The sheer hardness of his arousal wiping Kate's ability to think of anything else other than how it would feel in her hands, her mouth or better yet in her, fucking her brains out in the same way he had a countless number of times last night.

There was just one thing that held her back from going through with it again, Jane.

"Let's go upstairs." Jack huskily suggested completely caught up in the spirit of the moment but his gaze then automatically followed Kate's and with that the realisation finally set in.

"She never has to know if you don't want her to." Jack attempted to reassure her, clearly too gone by his passion to be turned down now. All he wanted to do now was fuck Kate's brains out and do it again when she felt she could do no more.

"It's not that Jack. It's just she really likes you and she's been through so much already that the last thing she needs is me adding to that pain."

"And what if I like you instead? What if all I wanna do right now is take you upstairs and show you how much I want you and how much I know you wanna feel this inside you." Jack urged once again while taking hold of Kate's free hand this time and placing it against his clothed arousal. He knew his response came off as a tad unfair to her situation, but at the same time he knew she truthfully wanted this as much as he did.

"Jack we……"

"Please Kate, just this one night. I need you." Jack begged along with a firm kiss placed upon Kate's stationary lips to silence any further argument. Thankfully she remained silent on the subject and allowed her desire precedence from that point onward.

Jack carefully managed to manoeuvre his arm from around Jane who was sound asleep while Kate waited patiently to have what her body was desperately yearning for with each passing minute. Everything Jack did turned her on at that point and when Jack was finally finished and all hers, she took hold of Jack's hand and hurriedly led him to her own bedroom.

Once they reached the doorway, their lips now tightly locked with each other, Jack bent down and picked Kate up in his arms and walked inside the room, shutting the door shut with the back of his foot on the way in. Once they were inside and granted the privacy they so desperately wanted, he walked them towards the bed and placed Kate on the end, then immediately moving to hurriedly rid himself of the clothing he wished he didn't have on.

While he worked on undoing his shirt, Kate frantically worked on his trousers, literally whipping off the belt when it failed to come undone and Jack just chuckled but was glad to have it off cause the new found freedom brought him one step closer to physical relief.

Once the belt was out of the way Kate unzipped him and was immediately met with his protruding member, sticking out to be touched and pleasured of which Kate gladly offered as she gripped and started stroking him almost immediately.

Taking Jack off his balance momentarily, especially when Kate bent down to seal her mouth over the engorged tip and then slowly moved all the way up his semi hardened shaft.

He allowed Kate control of the situation for the first few minutes and when he felt her pace quickening to solely bring him to release, he pulled her mouth away from much to Kate's whining at first but Jack assured her once again with those eyes and like a spell Kate immediately gave in and allowed him to then remove her own clothes so that their intentions could finally be fulfilled.

Once the layers were out of the way they both knelt in the middle of the bed, allowing their hands to roam over the bare expanses of their bodies while their mouths frantically moved over each other. However being constantly poked by Jack's fully aroused cock the whole time was too much to take and Kate then pleaded to be taken.

Thankfully Jack complied right away, feeling close to losing it himself if he wasn't buried within her any time soon.

As Kate pulled him down to the bed beneath them, she expected Jack to immediately grant her wish and fill her with his erection, but all he did was flirt with the idea. By taking hold of his cock and dragging the head across the surface of it's designated area, making Kate even wilder with passion and need for him.

"Jack please." she resorted to verbally pleading with him while bucking her form into Jack, allowing for him to feel her own seeping arousal which brought forth a wolfish smile to the Doctor's face.

"Excited are we? Well let's see if I can relieve some of that tension." Was all he offered with a wink and then dragged his face down, planting a kiss upon each inch of skin on the way down and then stopped before the area of Kate's dripping pussy. A part of him still felt uncomfortable that he was doing this with another woman, but he ditched any shred of guilt and went with what his body wanted by leaning forward to seal his lips over the nub of Kate's clit. Immediately pleased and furtherly turned on himself by Kate's reaction to his ministrations. With that he proceeded to go further and literally bathe every inch of her pulsating skin with his tongue and then taking note to suck on the swollen nub to bring forth what Kate was verbally warning him off.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Kate chanted while fully arching her body into Jack and tightly holding onto the sides of his working head in an effort to prolong her explosive and never ending release, and before Kate could gather herself from the numbing sensation of her orgasm, Jack quickly placed himself over and plunged his entire length into her, making Kate immediately scream out in shock of the action but Jack was quick enough to muffle it with his mouth and then elicit a groan from Kate at tasting her tangy yet oddly appetising essence on his lips.

He started out with slow and shallow thrusts in an effort to grant Kate some mercy, but the moment she wrapped her legs around his hips, he took it as a physical sign that she was recovered and ready for a quicker and more heightening pace.

So with that he grabbed hold of Kate's hips and started plowing into her, at the same time gauging her reaction to it. Of course she was lost for words and just nodded for him to continue on fucking her. If it even was that now.

"Yeah, yeah fuck yeah. God you're tight." Jack commented as he started pushing further into her, having to use every ounce of control to prolong the arrival of the release he already felt was upon him as a result.

"So big." Was all Kate could say in response while biting the edge of her lip and allowing for Jack to bend down and feast on her considerably dampened neck to ride out the pleasure he was feeling as he continued thrusting into her with an unknown hunger and determination he had never shared with any woman before.

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Twenty minutes into it and Jack was now moving at a rapid pace, causing the bed they were currently lying in to violently shake along with Kate who was struggling to find the next breath but unwilling to stop Jack's movements in an effort to get it.

"Coming, coming….." Jack moaned in a muffled voice against the root of Kate's neck and all she could do in response was grasp his body closer and then urge him to let go and let him come inside her.

"Yeah, ooooh fuck. Ooooh let it go Jack, come inside me." Kate asked and was underestimated by the sudden change in Jack from that moment onward. It was almost as if he was another person altogether. One who was consumed by granting nothing but physical satisfaction and Kate was surely convinced that he had excelled in it with flying colours.

"You want me to cum inside you?" Jack grunted as he pulled himself to tower over Kate, still continuing with his animalistic thrusting and looking upon the brunette with a considerably darkened gaze.

"Oh God yes!! I want all of your cum, mmmmm I want it all inside me." Kate urged and that was all Jack needed to elevate his advances to the final stage that would grant them sure release.

He momentarily stilled his thrusting and moved to completely tower over Kate by kneeling over her and then taking her right leg and placing it straight into the air. With that position set he resumed with his thrusting but this time putting the ample amount of pressure into it. So much so that Kate could feel Jack's balls violently slapping against her ass with each full lenghted thrust, and when Jack was just over the cusp of his release, he grabbed Kate's other leg and not only held them in the air but widened them in an effort to invite more of his cock when he cummed inside of her.

"Oh Jack, Jack, Jack." Was all Kate kept on waveringly chanting as she held onto the last waves of control before she was forced to tightly shut her eyes and grasp her own head to come at the same time Jack did with a low growl to verbalise the pleasure while still pumping more and more of his release into her.

It was several minutes later before Jack stilled his actions and emptied the last of his release into Kate, then falling into her welcoming form.

"Mmmmm this feels good." Kate commented with a hum while grasping Jack closer to her equally sweaty and sated body.

"Are you talking about me or this?" Jack teased while making a full thrust with his softening yet still impressively sized cock.

"Oh both." Kate joked which earned her a playful bite against the neck and another thrust of Jack's cock which started to harden once again much to her disbelief. Never the less he gave into the sensation and rolled over so that Kate was on top this time.

"C'mon Kate, ride me." Jack urged while squeezing the edge of Kate's hips and then throwing his head back onto the pillow, humming in pleasure when she started bouncing up and down over his once again hardening cock. Both mutually pleasured in what their bodies unexpectedly did and brought forth as a result of being with each other in this way.

They both felt free for once but at what cost?

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**The next instalment will ****undoubtedly deal with the ramifications of what happened in this chapter and the end result might be a little too much for Kate to handle…**

**Chappie 3?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter** **3**

**Thoroughly ecstatic that you guys are liking this fic and without further adieu here's the next instalment, unfortunate ramifications and all. **

Kate's vision was considerably blurry the next morning but the strong arm now looped around her waist from behind was enough to bring her to a fully awakened state. However before she could get up, she was momentarily distracted and soothed with a pair of lips laving her delicate neckline with a growing hunger.

"Morning." Jack mused in between his assault of feverish kisses upon her while also allowing his hand to roam for a presumed destination, and Kate immediately grew wide eyed when she felt it then land on her one form of physical weakness against his still electrifying touch.

"Jack." she immediately tried to voice her concern for what this would automatically lead to and he was making it considerably harder for her to pull herself in order and away from this. However what he said next was enough to completely melt her resolve.

"After all you did for me last night it's only fair that I should return the favour." Jack offered instead with a firm kiss planted upon Kate's lips and resumed with grasping hold of her and caressing what her body was already responding to despite her half invested words to propose something along the lines of logical. Still through it all she mustered enough physical strength to pull away somewhat.

"Jack we can't." Kate tried to reason but all her response achieved this time was a rather bold yet equally satisfying shove of his demanding hardness. Jack having to freeze at some points due to the pulsating effect the surface of his cock was welcomed with when he placed himself within an area he was already comfortable with willingly intruding and later filling it with the uncontrollable, hot gush of his excitement.

Kate on the other hand couldn't find a word to describe the utterly gratifying sensation of having her will bent in this way. Once he was practically buried to the hilt, he commenced with his previous ministrations of stroking Kate's front and coinciding each thorough caress with his gathering thrusts from behind.

"Mmmmm Jack…" was all Kate could verbalise while tightly grasping onto the hand that Jack was bringing her such satisfaction with, especially when she was coherent enough to feel the addition of his index finger grazing across the underside of her vagina. Merely flirting with the idea of intensifying the penetration he had made in the first place. Although ten minutes into it and he apparently had something in mind judging by the notable decrease in his pace.

"Do you trust me?" Jack then suddenly asked much to Kate's surprise and without thinking she let the trust her body already felt around him to do the talking. However she took note to perhaps verbalise it in the end in an effort to confirm what Jack was patiently waiting for.

"Yes" she offered without a considerable amount of thought, and the very next moment Jack then rolled them over, eliciting an elongated moan from her when the movement caused his penetration to deepen on the way, and in an effort to help Kate ride it out, Jack momentarily stilled himself to plant another kiss against her gasping lips, wordlessly encouraging her that he was here and wouldn't take her new found trust in him lightly.

With that conveyed Jack strived to initiate the final stages of the position and once it was finally made, Kate just widened her eyes in realisation of what this new position offered.

Jack was now lying flat on the bed with Kate fully lying on top of his strong body. His entire right hand still cupped Kate's burning center from beneath, and before she could say anything Jack moved his other hand towards the area of their connection. Him being oddly turned on as his finger lightly grazed across the thick base of his own cock in an effort to initiate what he had in mind at that moment.

Of her own volition Kate started bouncing up and down in a pace that caused Jack to nearly see stars, and he was forced to do nothing but throw his hands on the bed flat in submission almost to what the woman above was doing to him.

"Hmmmm fuck yeah. Fuck my cock Kate……. mmmmm that's right fuck it baby." Jack urged from beneath and was awarded with a heightening change of pace that nearly sent both of them off the deep end.

It felt as if she was floating in mid air with each thrust and stroke Jack made at the same time, and all she wanted to do now was visually gauge Jack's own reaction to what she was doing to him. So with that she turned her head toward him halfway and called out his name in a tone that immediately caused the frantic man below to reluctantly still his thrusts yet still continue on with stroking her from the front to help ride out the sensation somewhat.

"What's wrong?" Jack softly asked as he physically pulled himself into a seated position, completely cradling her quivering form from behind and immediately applying his lips to the curve of her neck but still devoting enough attention to what she wanted off him at the moment.

"I wanna see you Jack. I wanna see you enjoying fucking me as much as I am." Kate requested and shivered when a dark flicker passed through Jack's gaze, but the moment was brief and suddenly replaced with a warm smile as he grasped hold of her hips, expertly swivelling her around to face him, and once that was done Kate sealed the intense position by wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning in to softly caress his lips while slowly bouncing up and down his fully erect cock that still lay snug within her gradually constricting depths.

As the minutes progressed so did the rate of their pace, to the point where they were simply gasping for breath and heavily leaning their sweaty foreheads against each other to simply help the other naturally ride out the impending pleasure that was bound to blow their minds into oblivion judging by the harsh rapidness within their breath.

"God, you feel so fucking good." Jack urgently gasped in a one breath and then lost it when Kate awarded his comment by burying her face deep within the comfort of his neck to bite and lick at the coarse skin. All Jack did in return to the thoroughly arousing sensation was grasp her even closer to him and then wordlessly urge them to then lie down in that very position.

After spending a good five minutes of devouring virtually every inch of Jack's neck, she pulled away and sat up still happily filled with Jack's erection and unwilling to disengage anytime soon. In fact if she had her way Jack would remain like this within her all day long, and it wasn't long before she was throwing her head back and moaning his name in a tone that was loud enough to not only travel past the confines of the bedroom but also downstairs where a groggy yet awake enough Jane currently lay.

Her first option was to simply dismiss the sound as nothing, but when she heard it for a second time, her curiosity got the better of her and with a brief observation of her worryingly desolate surroundings her decision was confirmed, and she was trudging on upstairs to find some shred of life.

(Meanwhile - Upstairs)

"Oh God." Was all she continued to chant to the heavens while allowing her body to still move over him. His cock still hard as a rock and him unwilling to change the pace of the current movement because he was simply too captivated by the satisfaction displayed all over her flushed features. Pleasure he was solely responsible for evoking and releasing with a passion that was fairly obvious to interpret but he was still a tad weary to delve any further than this now.

"Fuck Ja….." Kate barely had the chance to get out before her eyes widened upon hearing something that brought forth realisation of the reality she had just found escape from.

"Kate, is everything okay?" Jane's muffled voice asked through the locked door of Kate's bedroom.

_What could I possibly say that won't make her hate me now_ , Kate told herself as she alternated her saddened gaze between the man below her and the door. In the end she sighed and begrudgingly pulled herself up and off Jack's still aching erection. Her temporarily entranced by the thoroughly arousing image of the man on her bed, but she snapped herself out of it in time and told Jack to hide in the bathroom while she dealt with Jane.

Jack was reluctant to comply at first for the obvious jutting reason, but with a kiss of encouragement planted against his lips, he went through with it but still gave Kate a look that said "you owe me". Of course an IOU was the furthest thing from her mind at that moment.

Once every trace of Jack was physically removed from the room, Kate then grabbed hold of her robe and finally decided to answer the door. The very thought of the pain and betrayal the brunette knew she would be faced with was enough to make Kate want to kill herself right there and then.

She just hoped that Jane had it in her heart to forgive.

"Hey" Kate nervously offered as she was adorned with the sight of her dishevelled yet equally concerned friend. The shakiness in Kate's tone and demeanour didn't seem to ease Jane's concern in the slightest, and in turn it made Kate even more jittery.

"What happened last night?" Jane enquired while furrowing her eyebrows to gain some recollection herself of what happened the night before. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in the casual yet promising embrace of a man she could really see herself falling hard for.

Kate literally felt like her mind was currently having a cruel game of tug "O" war. On one side there was Jack, a man she had never expected to fall so hard for in such a short space of time. She was never one to sleep with a guy after meeting him only hours before but there was just something about Jack that made her want to ditch her inhibitions and be free with her desire instead.

On the other side was Jane, a person she could undoubtedly confide in with pretty much anything. Friends like that only came once in a lifetime and she didn't want to lose hold of something as precious as that. At the same time she was somewhat convinced that the friendship they had was not only strong enough to possibly withstand this but even strengthen as a result of revealing the simple honesty of her feelings.

The answer to that question was considerably cloudy at first but the very memory of Jane's excitement the previous day when Jack had called was enough to formulate a blatantly obvious answer that wasn't the problem solver for everybody, but at the same time she felt that maybe it was what needed to be done.

The question was did Kate have it in her to be the genuinely caring friend and step aside or would she allow her feelings for Jack precedence over everything?

Feelings she herself was still considerably new to, yet a part of her was still curious to see if it could grow into something more.

* * *

**What will Kate do? An answer will be offered ****within the next chapter which can be up as soon as the weekend if you guys want it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**How will Kate handle it? Well I guess that's what this chappie will explore and we shall see an interesting turn of events as a result. As always ** **thanks for the lovely feedback guys. It really makes me smile to read your views, thoughts and opinions on each instalment and I can only hope that, that will continue to progress.**

_What do I want to do?_

"Kate." Jane urged with a genuine amount of concern in her tone and it's effect did nothing but make Kate feel even more guiltier. Though it still failed to falter with the tough yet required decision she knew she had to make.

_This is what I have to do._

"Jane ..." Kate started out and broke off in an effort to compose the swell of emotion she wasn't prepared for in the slightest.

_What the hell is happening to me?_ was all she could think to ask herself before she pulled herself back into reality and to the growingly anxious woman before her.

"Well we were watching movies and you went to la la land before we could call it a night." Kate half joked, still feeling bad that she had just lied to her best friend. Although what she was about to offer next was what she thought would ease matters considerably.

"Oh."

"Yeah, but Jack told me to tell you that he had a wonderful time." Kate revealed while trying to emphasise what she knew wasn't the real truth, but Jane didn't have to know what possibly wasn't meant to be. Not when a friendship as precious as the one she and Jane shared was at stake.

"Really?" Jane asked in a sheer enthusiastic manner. Her expression much like a kid on Christmas morning, but the same obviously wasn't for Kate who was growing more grim and depressed by the minute, and starting to honestly regret what she was still half willing to go through with.

"Yeah." Kate expressed in a barely audible whisper though the suggestive tone failed to make itself known through Jane's utter thrill and excitement in what she just been informed of.

Within seconds she then pulled Kate down to sit on the bed with her to ask the necessary questions. Even if they were considerably hard for Kate to make up let alone mean them.

"Okay details. What did he say about me?"

(Meanwhile – On the other side of the bathroom door)

He knew it was wrong to eavesdrop but the very mention of his name then being referred alongside something he was convinced wasn't true even in a half lucid state at the time, gave him a good enough excuse to then continue on with the eavesdropping.

The more he heard and the more confused he grew, especially when he heard Kate say that he had apparently hit it off extremely well with a woman who was a little too overwhelming for him but still viewed her as a good friend, nothing more.

Although Kate was surely singing a whole different story now and he didn't know what to feel other than used as a result. So with that he securely wrapped a vacant towel around his waist and paced along the length of the restricted area. Trying as much as possible to search for an explanation but at the same time he couldn't help but question what he had just heard.

_Was this all some kind of sick game on her part?_

_Did what we have in the short space of time we did get to know each other mean so little to her?_

_Did she even care in the first place?_

They were all questions that brought forth nothing but a sense of self realisation. Something his own wife had also shown through her never ending excuses. It all made sense to him now.

"_You just don't have it in you to make a difference son."_

It was a statement that admittedly haunted him and no matter how hard he tried to prove it wrong, something or another always reminded him of the failure he felt he was now.

Still with all of that he couldn't get past the fact that the woman he was with last night; the very woman he was still convinced wanted him in the same way he still wanted her would do something as drastic as this.

There had to be some sort of valid explanation for it but the question was how would he get it and more importantly did he care enough to do so at this point?

------

"Wow, so did he say anything else?" Jane enquired and was cut off this time with a sigh from Kate who was emotionally exhausted at the least with what she had falsely confessed but she also felt slightly squeamish which could have also been a result to the emotional baggage she was dealing with at the moment.

Thankfully Jane took the hint and then offered to go down to the local Chemist which Kate was about to defer at first but upon realising the convenient loophole it would present for Jack's escape, she quickly agreed with Jane and took note to slightly exaggerate her paleness in an effort to hurry the woman.

Once Kate was convinced that Jane was out of sight, she literally dragged her feet toward the bathroom door knowing that he had possibly been listening in the entire time and had obviously taken it the wrong way. However she was still debatable about trying to convince him otherwise cause it would undoubtedly defeat what she had planned to do so far. Still she felt an emotional pull with each stride and did her very best to try and pass it all off as absurd.

Before she could even place her hand on the surface of the pale white door, it opened and the sight that adorned her shocked and aroused her at the same time.

His shortly cropped hair was wet and dishevelled in a rough yet sexy way. The rest of his body followed in the same mouth watering manner, and she couldn't help but let her eyes fall upon what lingered below his waist. The bulge still daring to show itself through the soft, cosy material of the towel that now wrapped itself around it. At that moment she would have given anything to be that towel, but she managed to quickly snap herself out of her rather rueful way of thinking just in time to face a surprisingly calm Jack.

"Everything go okay?" he asked as he moved and lightly brushed himself past her on the way. The action somewhat deliberate on his part and the effect it evoked from her was enough to make him want to continue with the game he had just put into motion.

"Kate?" he questioned once again and mustered all the control he had to hide the smile at her amazement, especially when he daringly dropped the towel he was wearing to put on his boxers.

"Uh, yeah." She responded in a still half mesmerised demeanour though part of the reason for her lack of focus was her sheer hesitation to just come out with what her brain was literally screaming at her to say before it was too late.

"Jack I…." she started out but Jack took it upon himself to cut in with expressing something she was so hesitant in revealing.

"It's okay Kate. I heard everything and maybe you're right." He offered, surprising and confusing the brunette at the same time, but it also filled her mind with a sense of relief that he was on the same wavelength as her. Another similar feature to make her feel even worse about having to go through with this but for the millionth time round she knew it had to be done.

So with that in mind she remained silent yet equally anxious to say something, especially when Jack slowly walked towards her and then stopped merely inches away from where she currently stood. His breath blowing lightly across the surface of her features when he continued on with what he had to say.

"Let's just chalk up what we had to two people sharing a spontaneous yet "mind blowing" attraction and acting as much as they could on it." He stated, deliberately phrasing their experience in such a manner to mainly show her that maybe it was more than he was letting on here. Little did he know that it was a sure understatement and the sure sign was the fact that she couldn't face him the entire time. The gesture coming off as nothing but a sense of shame to the untrained eye but Jack had been with her long enough to know that there was a hidden reason behind each action.

A reason he himself was secretly having a tough time following through with, but if he gave the game up now and pulled her into his arms begging to give what they had a chance to properly develop, he knew he would be fighting a losing battle because she would obviously put forward something he personally felt wouldn't be ruined as a result. However he was a guy and the way he regarded such a friendship was significantly different to the way she did.

His experience was well learned from his time with Sarah, and as much as he saw it as nothing but petty at times he still showed his respect towards it.

"Besides Jane is pretty hot so why not eh." Jack added as he moved away from Kate to gather the rest of his clothes, earning nothing but an expected silence from the brunette who was completely taken off her feet by his lewd and unexpected forwardness.

Without considering to not let herself get emotionally invested as a result of hearing this, she did with a feeling of jealousy she never knew she had, especially for a man she still knew next to nothing about, but apparently what she did know was enough to make her feel this way.

From there on the only thing that lingered between them was an uncomfortable silence, but the expression of anxiousness to do otherwise was written all over their faces. However their combined stubbornness restricted any element of further progression, and the outcome left them feeling gloomy, more so for Kate rather than Jack who was still trying to stay positive that his efforts would still work to grant what he really wanted.

"So I guess I'll see ya." Jack took a stab and offered but as expected all he got in return was the front door in his face, but for him the game was far from over because that look on her face when he made that comment about Jane, gave him the clear answer he had been searching for.

Failure wasn't an option here and if anything he was far more determined now to see this to the very end. However with all of that thought out he didn't even think to consider the one thing that would surely jeopardise it all.

Sarah.

* * *

**So a little angsty but the game is far from over indeed. So expect a lot of jealousy from both Jack and Kate** ** within the next few chapters but there is something forthcoming that might change things in a fairly drastic way….**

**I've already started proof reading chapter 5 so it can be with you guys as soon as** **Tuesday if you want.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Okay first off I'm so sorry guys for not being able to put this chapter up on Tuesday**** like I had planned, but I had to reboot my computer and as a result I nearly lost everything but anyway here's the new chapter with a bit of a bombshell leading up to the big event which is almost upon us. **

**Plus I plan to play the drug addict card with someone in this fic and this chapter might just give you guys a slight hint as to who it might be**** judging by their actions.**

**P.S. It's not Jack lol.**

**In terms of feedback all I can say is thank you so much :)**

_What would he do?_

_More importantly who was calling him right now?_

"Hello." He tiredly spoke into the phone after it's fourth ring and was immediately plagued with guilt when he figured out who was on the other side, and as expected they weren't happy with him in the slightest but as the one sided conversation went on it grew weirder and weirder; almost to the point where it verged on absurd and delirious.

"Sarah, just slow down and tell me what's going on?" he thought to ask through her extremely random rambling.

"Just stay put and I'll be there in a few minutes." He hurriedly offered as somewhat of a peace offering with the person's suggestion and then hung up knowing that there was no easy way out of this, but the least he could do at this point was try to salvage what the logical side of him felt was the right thing to do, starting with the present problem at hand.

So with that he took a deep breath and walked towards his car which still lay parked on the side of the pavement facing the apartment. Him temporarily shocked at Jane's lack of quickness to catch onto the tell tale signs to suggest that he had in fact spent the whole of last night here, and in the arms of a woman he was undoubtedly attracted to physically, but the real question was did it dare to branch any further than that, for both of them.

It was something he was afraid to possibly admit for the sole reason that it was wrong in every sense of the word, especially since he was legally married to another woman. At the same time he still couldn't deny the feelings that had unexpectedly developed for a woman his mind told him he had to stop seeing in an effort to save what he could of his marriage, especially now.

_Do I go with my head or whatever my heart is feeling at the moment?_

The answer was blatantly obvious, and with that set straight he got into his car and regrettably drove away from something that had the ever so promising possibility of happiness and more. A feeling he still desperately strived to find with Sarah, though her sheer lack effort to do so on her part defeated his hopes considerably, and as a result it left him feeling lonely and worthless.

Still his resilience to overcome it all and fix it always came out the clear winner, and as much as he wanted this time to be the exception, he knew it would credit him as being nothing but selfish towards both women. He had to consider their feelings too, more Sarah rather than Kate because he was still unsure as to how the brunette felt about their two consecutive days of "marathon passion".

As lewd as the experience was vaguely summed up as; they were possibly the only two days in his entire life that he felt so entirely free and uninhibited. It was as if she unleashed a side that he himself was shocked of ever having possessed, but the sheer thrill of evoking it uncontrollably to a person who was more than willing to reciprocate made it addictive.

_The game still wasn't over__ in the slightest regardless of the one obstacle that could completely jeopardise it's current standing._

It wasn't long before he found himself pulling into the spacious driveway of the house he and Sarah shared. The only thing she proposed through her rambling on the phone was her request to see him, and judging by the distinct tremble in her tone he could tell that it was important enough to worry himself but of course not assume the worst.

For a split second he thought it was to do with him and his infidelity, but to be fairly honest when did she ever care about the things going on in his own life?

Even if it did happen to involve another woman he was not only sure he wanted to seeing again but also plan to go that one step further if things between him and Sarah continued to go on the way they were at the moment.

The moment he stepped foot in the house, he knew that something was wrong, and the sight of a violently sobbing Sarah on the couch in the living room confirmed his suspicions.

"Sarah." He awkwardly acquired for her attention in a comforting manner. Momentarily allowing for the still caring husband in him to surface, but at the same he couldn't seem to shake off the feeling of unease at still being that for her after what he did. Never the less he put everything to the side for the moment and focused his attention on her. More on the item she was clutching tightly to her and wordlessly refusing to reveal for some reason when he kindly asked her to.

"Real…it has to be real." The distressed blonde kept on chanting to herself while rocking back and forth in her seat. The sight arousing nothing but genuine concern from Jack and with that he resorted to a method he knew he sucked at, being that he wasn't a big fan of false hope and all. However desperate times called for desperate measures and his curiosity was too far gone by the insatiability of it's own hunger to consider abandonment.

"Sarah, what's happened?" he attempted to ask while lowering himself to her level and cautiously approaching her huddled and trembling form.

As half expected she failed to answer him and after spending a second or two overcoming his fear of possibly saying or doing the wrong thing, he took a deep breath and allowed for his actions to do the talking. Although the moment he moved to place his hand on the small of her back in a clear gesture of progressive comfort, she stood up and started pacing, talking to herself like a mad person but still grasping hold of what she was still trying to hide from him. So in an effort to get some answers once and for all, he too stood and immediately placed himself in front of her, abruptly stilling her frantic pacing by roughly grabbing hold of her shoulders and putting a great deal of emphasis in repeating his verbalised concern for her.

However his efforts still failed to make an impression and she just ripped herself away from him in response, accidentally dropping the item she was trying her hardest to keep from his knowing all this time, and the reason she did so was blatantly answered in his mixed expression of shock and what she clearly interpreted as dread. A combination that was far from the elated reaction of a typical Dad to be, and that was why she was now contemplating a choice that would surely be considered inhumane in every way, but it was better than being looked at the way she was now.

_She should have known that he__ wouldn't want this._

"You're….you're pregnant?" he still felt the need to ask in an effort to reel past the shock of it all. However before he could allow the white stick shaped item to then give him a definite answer, she quickly ripped it away from his hands and awarded him with a response that did nothing but achieve the expected, though what she didn't expect was for him to say nothing except offer her a look that said all he needed to say. The hurt, the anger all of it and she was gobsmacked to say the least; therefore trying to then appease him with the truth seeing as he was clearly devastated with hearing such news.

"Jack I….." she attempted to explain through her tears, suddenly feeling awful for having made the clearly wrong decision in telling him what she supposedly did. Mainly the baby she just told him she aborted for a reason he had a vague sense of relation towards, but still he wouldn't go to the extent of ending an innocent life in an effort to ease matters.

"Don't. Just don't." he warned her, using every ounce of strength in his body to control the growing urge to physically act on the rage he now felt boiling through his veins. Though he wasn't the kind of person to hit a woman, no matter how much he was pushed towards temptation. Instead all he did was walk out, leaving the blonde to collapse and dissolve into the gloom of the tragedy she had just brought upon herself.

Still with it all she kept in mind that no matter what happened from this moment on she would always have a little piece of him with her. Something to remind her of one Jack Shepherd. A man who was so pure and loving in the first few months of their relationship that it forced her to pinch herself sometimes in realisation of having such a perfect man in her life.

That surely wouldn't be the case now even if she still happened to be in the motherly way.

All Sarah could do now was take the test and desperately hope that she indeed was, mainly for her own sake.

(Meanwhile)

He wanted to relentlessly punch the first thing he saw but he also couldn't deny or hold back the tears of his most recent loss any longer, and all at the cost of his stupid mistake. So with that he collapsed into the driver seat of his car and dropped his head into his hands, finally letting go of it all.

_If I had just called her back that night then maybe things would have turned o__ut differently_, he thought to tell himself but it still failed to make a lick of difference in easing the guilt and blame he had now chosen to beat himself up with.

"I need to get the hell out of here." He suddenly decided, starting the ignition to his car and literally skidding off to find the nearest form of liquid relief in an effort to take his mind off everything.

(Back at Kate's house)

She moped around the apartment being reminded of him at every instance, and at the same time trying to knowledge herself of the plain fact that he clearly wasn't interested in her the way she secretly wanted him to be. Though in his defence she really didn't give him much of a chance to properly express it due to her spontaneous and rather uncalled for match making skills that later backfired in her face in the most awful way.

She hated feeling this way. Clearly split in between two people and still unsure as to which side she wanted to fully align herself with. Yes, she did know Jane a lot longer than she did Jack but the feelings she shared for both people differed considerably.

_You already made your decision_, she reminded herself knowing there was no way to go back other than forward and somewhat supportive of her friend.

Then why was she still feeling like this?

* * *

**And what will she do about it? Will ****she step aside and continue to be the supportive friend or will she take matters into her own hands?**

**More importantly what will she do once she finds out about Sarah and vice versa?**

**I can officially reveal that there is a lot more to Sarah than meets the eye. At the moment it might seem a little confusing but it will all be cleared up within the next few chapters. The reason she was so hesitant about revealing her possible pregnancy and whether she in fact is in the first place. Jack only assumed she was because he accidentally saw the pregnancy test.**

**Weekend update guys? **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**First off I apologise for**** all the confusion in the last chapter and I hope that this instalment will clear up at least some of it. If not then just let me know guys and I'd be more than happy to also slip up with some forthcoming spoilers as I do nearly half the time lol.**

_(A few weeks before)_

_If she __was made to see or hear the words "grading papers" one more freaking time, she would have become more than liable to commit murder but unfortunately the stressful task came along with the job description, yet still she wished she was somewhere else or preferably in the presence of her own husband whom she missed in the normal way any wife would. _

_Though__ if she missed him so much then why couldn't she put off grading papers for at least one night and be with him?_

"_You still here?" she suddenly found herself then being asked by a voice she knew well enough to offer a friendly smile in return._

"_What can I say? I__t's that time of the year again." The blonde shot back and soon joined in with the laughter of the man across from her. _

"_So what are you doing here this late?" she then enquired when realisation of the current time shockingly dawned on her. _

"_Well I just about to lock up but I could reschedule with a little takeout if my favourite teacher is in the mood to join me." The man suggested with a hopeful glimmer in his gaze and an expression to greatly accommodate its case. _

_He was possibly one of the few people aside from Jack of course whom she found herself trusting in the same way she would a close friend. They had instantly clicked like peas in a pod and at times she came up with the absurd assumption that it might just turn into something more._

_Snap out of it Sarah you have a husband, the voice of reason firmly reminded her in an effort to stop any kind of ideas from forming. _

"_C'mon, when have you ever said no to Jae Wyong's mushu chicken?" he added and she just laughed out loud at his slight exaggeration in pronouncing the name. _

"_Okay." She relented with a mock sigh though she was more than willing to take him up on his offer just like she had done a countless number of times before._

_Food __was the excuse tonight._

_(End of flashback)_

All she could do now was pace, wait and hope for a positive result. Her other hope was that this baby was in fact Jack's because if it just so happened to be the other person she was secretly dreading for it to be, it would surely ruin everything. Precisely the plans she had in mind once she had the solid proof to win her case.

However this baby wasn't just a means to get what she wanted. This baby was her second chance to make amends for the mistakes she had made. One of the pressing ones being her involvement with a man who was so convincingly innocent on the surface, but what lingered beneath shocked and intrigued her at the same time.

Unfortunately she fell in with the latter and landed herself in a lot more trouble than she would have guessed or liked. Though in her defence trying to escape something so clearly "addictive" wasn't an easy task to carry out, but lucky for her the mustered self strength she had at the time was enough to pull her out before things turned even remotely serious with what she still considered to be an innocent fling. Though that was before she gave into temptation and did the worst thing possible to Jack and the vows she made to him not so long before.

So that was just one of the reasons she needed this baby to be Jack's.

_Ding_, suddenly went the timer suggesting one thing only, and with one last deep breath taken she finally leaned forward to pick up the test. Being overwhelmed with a mixture of feelings when she saw the result, and then registered what this would mean for her now, more importantly the current status of her and Jack's relationship.

------

He was on his fifth or so shot of tequila and was ready to move onto something stronger in an effort to get himself as far away from his present troubles as possible.

As much as the little voice in the back of his mind kept on telling him that this wasn't the right way to go, he also felt that there was no better resolution to ease the soaring pain he was convinced he wouldn't survive in a sober state. The very thought of the outcome his failure had acquired enough to drive that razor sharp wedge into his heart. Kate's rejection managed to drive it even further, making a clear break and leaving nothing but an endless void as a result.

"Another round." A man behind Jack suddenly announced and added more to the awkwardness by then seating himself next to the Good Doctor and giving the half stunned man a friendly pat on the back.

Half contemplating turning down the man's friendly offer, Jack then moved to do so but the man across seemed weirdly adamant in following through with his offer, and in the end Jack just relented with an audible nod. Allowing for the rounds to then keep on coming much to Jack's unknowing of course who was too consumed by his unfortunately inherited addiction to turn it down.

"So what trouble brings you here?" the man casually asked, feeling that he could somehow relate to the Good Doctor. The other thing Jack didn't know was that this meeting wasn't coincidental but merely planned in an effort to carry out a specific mission.

"You got all day?" Jack drowsily shot back with a bitter smile and the man across allowed himself to take it as a joke while refilling his and Jack's glasses. Taking note to discretely slip in something when Jack briefly excused himself to go to the toilet.

Several drinks later and the man had forcefully agreed to drive Jack home, knowing the route like the back of his hand but still unwilling to let Jack know that, and also of the fact that he was now being driven somewhere else altogether.

"So, this woman you were talking about earlier on."

"Kate." Jack filled the man in, still being hit with a wave of pain at remembering what happened.

"Sarah you mean." The man corrected him and momentarily froze at slipping up but fortunately for him Jack was simply too out of it to pick up on the man's mistake.

Or was he?

Everything happened so quickly from that moment onward. One minute the man was there and the next he was gone, leaving the car Jack was still in to swerve in the direction of another oncoming car.

(Meanwhile)

Being in the kind of mood she was currently in, she knew that she would be of no use in the work place. So she called in sick, feeling at least some of what she said was true but at the same time unwilling to give it a great deal of importance.

With that done she tried to busy herself with any small jobs around the apartment, though not forgetting to put on a fresh pot of coffee first. The best cure she felt would ease the slight queasiness she still experienced with each step she took.

Of course it didn't go to plan and she ended up in the bathroom, bent over the toilet and emptying the remnants of what she managed to get in her so far.

The symptoms were clearly suggestive but the irregular odds of it being exactly what she was currently thinking were literally slim to none. Besides considering it would only complicate matters as a result, especially if a test later proved her vague assumptions to be correct.

_It's just the__ flu_, she kept telling herself once she was composed enough to get through the day and more importantly not give Jane the tiniest bit of suspicion to assume along the same lines.

"Katie, you here?" a voice called out and within seconds of hearing it Kate quickly washed up and made her way downstairs to be adorned with the sight of a person she was expecting to see.

"Got the pepto." Jane immediately filled the brunette in while holding up the pink liquid filled bottle as physical proof, and Kate just chuckled in response knowing that, that was Jane's suggestion to cure any form of illness.

"_Always gotta have the pepto." _

Sometimes she wondered whether it was just because of the taste that Jane had taken such an addictive liking to it. To be fair she secretly liked it too and wouldn't exactly refuse if she was being offered it, especially now.

At this point she would go to the very extent of eating a piece of tree bark if it would ease this damn queasiness.

"Okay, seeing as you're a little under the weather and I'm in the mood to see the new Brad Pitt movie I was thinking…" Jane started out in a clear suggestive tone and manner that had Kate thinking way ahead.

"I'll get the popcorn, you book the movie." Kate confirmed much to Jane's surprise and disappeared without any further argument. Truth be told she needed this. Something to take her mind off everything for a while cause thinking about it any longer would only get her more depressed and incredibly irritable around Jane as well.

So with that in mind she attempted to put it all out of her thought system and instead focused more on the present. Starting with the popcorn she originally proposed to prepare.

Ten minutes, a bowl full of popcorn and two cokes later and Kate was re-entering the living room, a fully changed and more carefree thinking person.

"I got the snacks, the drinks and……" Kate started out in a high and more or less announcing tone but broke off midway when Jane failed to regard her in any way. Instead she just remained focused on the screen, wide eyed with shock and wordlessly encouraging for Kate's eyes to follow in the same direction.

The only thing heard next was a loud smash of the bowl Kate had just dropped in shock of what her eyes were currently seeing. The very sight of it enough to come across as unbelievable, but then hearing his name mentioned alongside the words "tragic car accident" was enough to make her worry more than just a concerned friend.

"Please, God no."

* * *

**Yes, you have thought right guys. Poor Jack is the victim of this tragic accident and as a result we might get to finally see Kate and Sarah's paths crossing. **

**Jane might also be the supporting friend for now but her true colours will ****show later on.**

**Speaking of which who is the mystery guy and is Sarah pregnant?**

**All will and can be revealed as soon as early next week……**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**As always thanks so much** **for the reviews guys and I do apologise for potentially putting Jack in harm's way but really would the jater in me ever allow any harm to come to my favourite TV couple lol.**

"We're losing him." The nurse issued the hurried warning which was necessary but equally worrying for the currently working Doctor who was literally doing all he could to not only reel past the shock but also work to save his best friend.

With managing to heal one wound, he was met with at least another five, and he couldn't help but wonder just how bad this accident was, more importantly what led him to such a catastrophe in the first place.

The only thing he was told was that it was a head on collision. However that still failed to satisfy his ever growing curiosity of assuming that there was a lot more to this story.

"BP's dropping." He was affirmed and quickly reverted back into the harsh reality of this situation. Being alarmed even further when all his efforts then achieved was the dreaded "no pulse" sound on the heart rate monitor.

"Damnit." The man cursed, knowing the odds but unwilling to give up in the very same way Jack surely would for him.

"Get me the Paddles."

(Meanwhile)

She rushed through the halls of the Hospital, trying to ease the very extent of her worry.

Whether it was genuine or not she still needed to find out if he was okay.

"Can I help you….Mrs. Shepherd." The receptionist started out and broke off wide eyed not only upon seeing the woman here, but also exuding an expression that brought forth a sense of immediate realisation. She too was shocked to see the Good Doctor wheeled in unconscious and bloody on a gurney a few minutes ago.

"He's currently in the O.R. but he should be……"

"Oh." Was the weird response Sarah decided to mouth instead in an effort to voice her apparent worry. It was almost as if she was expecting what the woman across from her still refused to even think or consider cause despite all the stories she had been told of the rather "ruthless" Sarah Shepherd, she surmised that maybe there was some sort of valid reason for the way she supposedly was.

"_Maybe some people deal with _ _the shock in their own way." _

Even with mentally saying it, the woman found it considerably hard to believe. That was until she saw the blonde woman heading towards the waiting area. Her movements almost zombie like but there still seemed to be some sort of mustered effort alongside it.

--------

A thousand thoughts loomed through her head as to why they were taking so long, but thankfully an entire hour later she was finally graced with a familiar face.

"Hey Sarah." The man casually offered while taking note to remove the surgical mask from his face in the meantime. He too was momentarily taken aback by the grave look within Sarah's gaze. Clearly suggesting the clear inclination of experiencing a tragedy of some sort even though he was about to deliver news circulating around the exact opposite.

_Did so_ _mething happen he wasn't aware of and was it even his business to begin with?_

"Is he okay?" Sarah asked the most obvious question of all in a tone that matched her current expression quite considerably, and instead of spending anymore time on thinking of a range of reasons, the man opposite her opted to offer an answer he himself was more than relieved to convey.

This was without a doubt the best part of his job.

"He's gonna be fine." The man revealed in tone loud enough for not only Sarah to hear but also another woman who too shared in the joyous moment for a reason that was equally significant in its own way.

She was just relieved that the self proclaimed "Miracle Surgeon" was okay and not paying instead for her fiancé's mistake. A mistake she wished she could have stopped from later presenting itself as a possible fatality, but she wasn't one to confront her fiancé's anger, especially when it was aided with an alcoholic demeanour.

_**Ring** _

"_Speak of the devil"_

"Hey" she nervously spoke into the phone, expecting to be berated for jeopardising a plan she was still meant to be a part of, and at the time she felt that in some ways it would suffice her revenge towards a certain blonde who seemed to still have a worrying hold on her fiancé's heart. A hold that slowly turned into an obsession much to her dismay, but still with it all she strived to look past it and instead focused more on personally getting her own back with Sarah.

However attempted murder certainly wasn't the way to get what she wanted. She knew that now and gladly welcomed the endless waves of regret, because through that she gained a new sense of knowledge of realising how wrong this all was.

"The Good Ol' Doc croaked yet?" the man on the other side of the phone joked and clearly no one else other than him found it remotely funny at this stage.

"Look, maybe we should jus….." the woman took a stab at it and tried to reason with the man one last time, but as half expected he cut her off in his usual rude and demanding way. A combination that really forced her to reconsider any further involvement with him, including the engagement ring he was still promising to get her.

The real question was did she still want it along with the empty promises she strongly surmised would follow?

"You not backing out on me now are you Loz?" he more so warned rather than asked using a nickname he used in an effort to defeat any kind of exposure, more for his sake rather than hers, and even with being blatantly shown it time and time again she still ignored it and stuck by him. Believing that he was doing this for the both of them, yet in reality he did all of it to place himself one step closer to the one person he truly wanted, Sarah.

Though unknownst to him things were now about to change on a monumental level.

The tables were about to turn and she was convinced she would come out the clear winner this time.

-------

She still stood frozen in shock over what she was seeing but thanks to some coaxing from Jane they were both in the car and heading towards the Hospital. Their minds both on the same man, but it seemed that Kate had a lot more than that on her mind, and Jane couldn't help but grow slightly curious towards the sheer extent of her friends' worry for a man she believed was nothing more than a good friend to her.

_Your just jumping to conclusions here and besides Kate would never do anything like that_ , a voice of reassurance affirmed her and defeated any form of doubt in considering the absurd yet equally likely possibility.

Snap out of it Jane.

She warned herself and nearly swerved off the road the next minute, in the midst of her current line of thought. Immediately snapping Kate out of her almost catatonic state in the process, and with that Jane kept her eyes on nothing but the road for the rest of the way. Knowing then that nothing good would come out of simply jumping to conclusions and making waves as a result.

An annoying fifteen minutes later solely due to being unfortunately caught during the rush hour; they quickly made their way towards the main entrance, though halfway through the journey and Jane proposed to double check to see whether she did lock the car in the midst of their hurry.

Kate just offered a wordless nod of agreement in response and then rushed towards the reception area. Her demeanour completely changed from the one she had, had a few minutes ago.

"Can I help you Miss?" the woman behind the office counter asked after rifling through at least half of the calls she was being buzzed with at the moment.

"I'm here to see a Jack Shepherd." Kate responded and brought the woman's workload to a considerable halt.

The first thing that naturally came to the receptionist's mind was….

"_Who was this woman?"_

The second was something that didn't need answering cause it was blatant within the brunette's gaze, and it did nothing but confuse the woman opposite her.

Still, as much as she felt the need to award the brunette with a simple answer, she also had to consider the necessary procedures that needed to be carried out in such a situation.

"Miss, I can't allow yo….." the receptionist felt the need to then turn her away cause the Doctor current status only credited the visitation of close family. Allowing anyone else would not only jeopardise his health but her job too.

"Please just tell me if he's okay?" Kate still strived to more or less demand in a tone that was loud enough to grab the attention of the two people standing nearest to her at that moment.

"Katie?" one of the people then called out freezing Kate in her tracks due to the distinct familiarity of the voice, and without thinking she allowed her instincts to get the better of her.

"Tom?" she questioned in genuine eye widening shock upon seeing him here, but some of her concentration was also focused on the emotionally perturbed blonde woman standing next to him.

They spent the first few seconds in silence, not really knowing what to say, but much to their surprise the blonde woman then took the hint and moved to verbally excuse herself but Tom suddenly stopped her from doing so.

Naturally Sarah was a tad reluctant at first due to her current emotional state, but at the same time she didn't want to come off rude cause Tom was the one person both her and Jack had gotten along with really well. So with that in mind she put on her best attempt at a friendly smile and waited for Tom to make the introductions of which he thankfully took note of to do in an effort to kill the awkward silence.

"Uh Sarah this is Kate Austen." He revealed and watched on with a smile as the two women shook hands but little did he know that the light hearted moment would quickly dissipate once he finished with the introductions.

"And Kate this is Sarah. Sarah Shepherd."

* * *

**Tum Tum Tum lol. Come next chapter and we will of course see Kate's reaction to this news, along with more of this "Loz" person and her ** **Fiancée. His mission to eliminate Jack is not over in the slightest. **

**The question is will this "Loz" person let him get away with it or will she allow her feelings for him to get in the way instead?**

**The subject of Sarah's pregnancy is far from forgotten as well. In fact her behaviour in the beginning of this chapter should vaguely suggest the kind of result she's gotten. Though don't worry cause a definite answer will surface.**

**Moi can push for a weekend update again if you want or I can wait and give you guys a chance to properly digest this fic.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Again sorry for the lateness guys but unfortunately both family and college life got in the way, giving me next to no fan fic time but I'm back on track now and ready to get a move on with this story.**

**Thanks so much for the reviews guys.**

The shock was clearly evident within her gaze but she tried her level best to conceal it from the blonde woman, and from Tom who was now looking upon her with nothing but concern. Firmly suggesting that it was simply too late to pass it all off with some sort of lame excuse.

The foundation of their friendship was a lot better than that.

The first thing she wanted to do when she finally reeled past the shock was to run as far away from the complications and deceit that would undoubtedly arise once Sarah knew the truth. That's if she hadn't surmised it already and even then to it would provide pretty much the same outcome.

The real question was did she really want to cower and run away from Sarah or did she feel strongly enough for Jack to consider fighting for him and what they could still have regardless of the present obstacles?

"Katie, you okay?" Tom took it upon himself to ask the slightly gob smacked brunette who still lay completely frozen much to both his and Sarah's surprise. However he was far more observant in taking note of it, especially when she failed to offer him any kind of answer or physical gesture to ease the concern which naturally followed.

"Uh…." Kate attempted to start out, an explanation forming somewhat as she went along with each breath, but the moment was brought to a screeching halt by none other than….

"Tommy?" the woman exclaimed and questions weren't needed as to who it was. The referral was enough to make Kate smile, yet cringe at the same time for a reason she preferred to not bring up because it would only resurface old, unnecessary wounds.

"Janey Laney?" Tom responded using a nick name that didn't only have Jane chuckling but Kate as well. The previous tense moment completely lifted, though the only one feeling awkward from that moment onward was Sarah.

"God, how long has it been?" Jane thought to ask as she fiercely hugged an equally elated Tom who tried to search his mind for an answer but only ended up with a memory that he wished he could move on from. However he couldn't because as long as Kate was around he knew he would never get over something his heart still felt and half contemplated on carrying out. Now more than ever as she stood before him looking even more beautiful than the day he first laid eyes upon her.

Never the less he pushed what was still clearly left of those old feelings to the side for the moment and focused on the present. It was only then that realisation suddenly struck him.

"So what are you guys doing here?" he then decided to ask the obvious and Kate immediately winced upon having to issue an answer that would not only arouse pain but suspicion as well from a certain blonde woman merely feet away from her now.

Thankfully Jane then took the silence as a cue to say something but before she could, Kate much to her surprise cut her off with a quick response that had Jane slightly furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, but of course she followed through with it because it was true.

Jack was their friend but of course Jane still hoped for a slightly different referral to the Good Doctor.

Little did she know the whole story too.

"Uh, Jane this is Sarah." Tom made the introductions and as cruel as Kate guessed it would probably be, she still felt the need to discretely warn Jane of the shocking news she herself was still finding hard to absorb.

"Sarah Shepherd." Kate sadly added hoping that her friend would catch on and as expected all Jane could then offer then was an "Oh" but she quickly managed to cover up her tracks by finishing with a mock friendly "Hello".

"Well it was nice meeting you both but I'd really like to get back to my husband so…" Sarah awkwardly started out and then looked to Tom to see if it was okay to do so, and without much hesitation he gave her the okay along with a conveyed smile of reassurance of which she half accepted while excusing herself.

Once Sarah was verbally directed towards the right room number, Tom focused his attention once again upon the two women he never thought he would see again. Kate especially after what happened the last time he saw her, but of course he dismissed it as nothing but the past and proceeded to propose a friendly cup of coffee seeing as Jack was stabilised and thankfully in the okay as a result.

All he needed now was rest and lots of it.

Much to his surprise and confusion however he was turned down when Jane made the thoroughly abrupt move by barely excusing herself and then heading towards the main entrance of the Hospital. Kate left with no other option but to follow with an expression that spoke volumes of her own pain, though before Tom could take the chance to casually quiz her on it, she was already off with a quick apology and a "See ya later" directed towards him.

"Yeah, see ya." He relented for the time being. His mind clearly conflicted with a lot of things that didn't seem to make sense, but one thing that did seem to stick out was that look when he introduced her to Sarah, specifically when he revealed her full name.

He knew Kate long enough to gauge her every reaction and he had never seen a look like that ever since he made the biggest regret as a result of doing something that was the worst possible thing you could do to someone, especially if it was to someone you "claimed to love" as she put it at the time.

In his defence though they were both young at the time and so utterly clueless to the true meaning of commitment, but he now knew that it was just an excuse mainly on his part to deny the genuine fear he felt of investing into something so incredibly intense.

He wasn't afraid now. In fact he had never felt so sure about something like this in a good long while.

The last 12 years to be exact.

-------

It didn't take long to find Jane seeing as she was sitting behind the wheel of the car. Her mind obviously on the same thing as Kate's but the extent of their anger and pain differed considerably.

Kate was simply better at hiding it, particularly from Jane.

The ride home was surprisingly silent but the distinct sound of the car door then slamming when they arrived home was enough to assure Kate that maybe Jane was affected by this a lot more than she would have guessed.

Still it was of no comparison to what she felt, especially after not only gaining the experience but reassurance the second time round that it was perhaps more than just sex cause it certainly felt that way for her.

"Maybe I was in way over my head", she was left with no choice but to mentally affirm herself with such a statement, knowing it was nothing but the harsh truth.

She needed to love more with her heart and not her head instead, but at the same time she couldn't help but wonder whether there was a part of her that did keep the possibility of love open in his case.

The sudden yet immensely powerful jolt of pain and concern she felt the moment she learned of his accident was enough to present itself as a blatant sign.

The one thing she did know was that it was completely different from what she shared with Tom in the entire five years they had been together.

However all her thinking and debating came to standstill when she stepped foot in the apartment and then caught sight of Jane sitting on the living room couch, huddled in a fairly suggestive gesture that Kate knew all too well.

Without much hesitation or any semblance of a choice, she seated herself next to Jane. Not really knowing what to say because in reality there wasn't much to say being that Jane hadn't even been on a proper date with Jack let alone branched towards anything remotely intimate.

_If anyone needs the support and comfort it's me_, Kate said to herself knowing it was completely selfish to think in such a manner but in all honesty it was perfectly justifiable to feel that way after what had happened between her and Jack.

However showing any hint of it would only make matters worse and as a result kill the almost sisterly trust Jane had in her. Plus it would be too late anyway to admit something that could never happen. Not as long as Sarah was around.

So with that in mind she pushed her feelings along with the tears to the side and focused more on being the supportive friend towards Jane.

"God, am I cursed or something?" Jane exclaimed and Kate wanted nothing more than to laugh at such an absurd statement, but in an effort to not come across as insensitive she contained her humour and strived to verbally coax her friend. Feeling emotionally exhausted herself by the end of it, but still unwilling to make any of it known to Jane.

It was simply the only way she felt she could deal with the pain. Besides she didn't really have a choice anyway.

"Guess it was too good to be true." she then caught note of Jane saying with a sad smile and it would be a sure understatement if Kate said she couldn't relate.

"Yeah, I guess so." Kate replied more to herself rather than the distressed person next to her.

What suddenly followed next was enough to not only take Kate by complete surprise but Jane as well. Maybe even more than Kate when she then allowed her assumptions to get the better of what she was currently witnessing.

This wasn't just the flu.

(Meanwhile – Back at the Hospital)

She stood at the doorway to his room, half contemplating on turning away and wallowing in the tragedy of what she still considered a big loss, but if there was anything she learned from this experience it was to never take things for granted because they might not be there when you want them to.

Still it wasn't fair to be denied the baby she had wanted for so long.

"What have I done?" she thought to ask herself as she gained enough courage to walk up to him and then look over the tragic cause of her actions. Though to be fair she wasn't exactly lying much to her dismay of later seeing a negative result.

"I'm so sorry Jack." Was all Sarah could think to express through her tears, feeling and knowing that she was completely responsible for this.

The only thing she hoped was that there was still a chance for her to make amends for the mistakes she wished she could have stopped herself from making.

"Mmhhhmm." She suddenly heard a mumbling from him and before she could think to respond with a growingly wide eyed expression she then heard him say something else that aroused nothing but genuine confusion from her.

"Kate."

* * *

**So the plot thickens. And to think I was originally going to end this fic at chapter 10 lol but I think I might go a little further ****now considering the numerous plot lines I've set up lol.**

**Anyway come next chapter and Jane might have some questions, one in particular that will obviously put Kate on the spot and more will be told on the "Loz" person who was introduced in the previous chapter. The one thing I can reveal is that she will closely associate herself with a major existing character to further her plans….**

**Now what will Sarah do?**

**In an effort to make it up to you guys, an update can be up as soon as Friday seeing as I've already started typing up chapter 9. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Thanks for the reviews guys :)**

**P.S. Nay don't worry cause as the fic progresses the length of the chapters will increase too, especially the jexy scenes lol.**

The possibilities of it being a mere coincidence were almost as likely as the odds of it being something more than that. However then hearing him say her name for a second time round was surely enough to opt for the latter; arousing a strong sense of suspicion alongside the dread of what this name might just entail. Not just for her but also for the status of a marriage she still felt she could save despite doing what she thought was the right thing to do at the time.

_Who was this woman?_

_Was she the same Kate she had met a few minutes earlier, or was it someone else altogether?_

She tried her hardest to find the answers but at the same time knew that acquiring any sort of explanation at this point would be solely built on her assumption, nothing more.

Still she didn't let go of the possibility. All she needed now was physical proof to win her case.

However before all that she needed a starting point, so she pressed the button on the side of his bed and transformed herself into the role of the attentive wife. The gears in her mind already formulating a plan and she would settle for nothing but success by the end of it.

She wouldn't screw things up this time.

(A few minutes earlier)

After finally getting off the phone with her fiancée, a title she was seriously starting to question, she surveyed her present surroundings and like a magnet for spotting evil then focused her glaring eyes upon someone she literally wanted to kill with her bare hands, but she wasn't one to let her anger get the better of her.

No, she was more a methodical person and would want until the perfect time to strike. However her plans wavered considerably when she spotted another woman across from Sarah who looked emotionally perturbed to say the least. Though what seemed to strike a chord of relevance was that look. It was the same look she had when she found out about her Fiancée's affair with Sarah.

A man who convinced her a thousand times over that he would love her unconditionally, but that all changed when Sarah unfortunately came into the picture and stole all of it away from her.

"Well it was nice meeting you both but I'd really like to get back to my husband…."

She suddenly overheard Sarah saying and she didn't know whether to laugh at what seemed like concern in the blonde woman's tone.

"Since when did she care about anyone but herself" the woman mentally exclaimed in all honesty of the bitter truth. In fact she was being generous in saying even that, but yet again she wasn't about to let the anger and profanity spill when it came to Sarah.

Not when an opportunity had just presented itself. So with that in mind she attempted to discretely listen in on the rest of the conversation, knowing it was rude in every sense of the word to do so, but she kept in mind that it was all for a greater cause.

A cause she felt that this brunette woman would maybe understand and hopefully support once she befriended her.

Judging by the way the brunette was currently acting around Sarah, she could sense that the task to convince her might be a lot easier to than she could have guessed.

"If only she knew the half of it." The woman affirmed herself in sheer astonishment of knowing just how manipulative one Sarah Shepherd was and what her influence brought forth as a result.

_(Flashback – 2_ _months ago)_

_This had become pretty much a normal routine for her._

_Getting up in the morning alone, having a shower and fixing breakfast for herself and her 2 year old son Calum. _

_Putting up with his constant questioning of "Where's Daddy?" was considerably hard for her to answer with what she was convinced was the truth, given the fact that he was hardly ever here now, especially after the argument she and him had a week ago to this day. _

_She was beyond the vague signs of his infidelity and _ _now focusing more on the choices she and Calum would be left with as a result. _

_Her first instinct was to simply pack her and Calum's stuff up and leave, but she also realised that in doing so it would not only jeopardise her son's life but also label her as a coward._

_She knew without a doubt that he would use it against her and place himself as the innocent in the bargain, even though it clearly wasn't the case. _

"_Momma_ _?" she suddenly heard her one ray of hope and purpose ask in a tone that required nothing but her undivided attention and she was more than willing to offer it._

"_Yeah baby."_

"_Dwoes_ _ Dadda hate me?" he enquired and she was completely put on the spot not just because of the sheer absurdity circulating around such a question, but also cause of what it forced her mind flashed back to._

_It was the very same question she asked her own Mother when she was a little girl. Sadly she learnt the truth behind that answer the hard way._

_Jim, her supposedly faithful Fiancée wasn't one to physically contain his anger, and she always had her suspicions as to whether Calum was a victim to it as well._

"_Of course not sweetie. Why would you think that?" she causally questioned him trying her hardest to contain the fury she felt at where this might have rooted from._

"_Cause he's not hwere." The boy answered and then sadly looked upon his untouched bowl of cheerios. His appetite clearly as far gone as his current mood was, and the woman across spent less time in beating herself up about it and more time trying to convince the toddler that this wasn't happening because of him. _

_However before she could make an attempt to do so, the moment was stopped short by someone more or less drunkenly barging in through the back door which just so happened to be situated in the corner of the kitchen where Calum still sat wallowing._

_Without bothering to regard her or Calum, he continued to walk towards the stairs leaving a strong and unappealing scent of liquor behind, and in turn filling the short brown haired woman with an unknown fury. _

_Now she could _ _go upstairs and opt for the choice of confrontation which would undoubtedly lead to another heated argument, or she could choose to stay put with her son and ignore the problems that really needed to be sorted out sooner rather than later._

_So she spent the rest of the day with Calum, partaking in pretty much anything he wanted to do in an attempt to lighten his mood, but her efforts were then made in vain by being graced with the presence of none other than…_

"_Jim?" the woman questioned, feeling somewhat thankful that he was sobered up, but what didn't comfort her however was the fact that he was heading out yet again. _

"_I'm going out." Was all he offered before physically following through with his statement, but enough was certainly enough, so she decided to quickly tell Calum that she needed to have a talk with Daddy, and he reluctantly followed through with the instruction, taking note to completely ignore the man he still had to respect along the way, and once Calum was upstairs and out of sight, Jim was then suddenly faced with a fairly pissed brunette whom he did love at one point, but it all changed considerably once Calum came into the picture._

_A change he certainly wasn't ready for, but in his defence he was trying his hardest to accept it in his own way and method._

"_Where are you going?" _

"_Out." He simply answered feeling like a teenager getting quizzed on his whereabouts by his parents. _

"_Who the hell did she think she was?" he said to himself feeling like he had already had enough of her berating for one night. So he just resumed with heading towards the front door, but was stopped halfway by a question he was unable to answer for the obvious reason._

_Mainly cause it was true._

"_Out to who?" she asked while trying to maintain some sort of hold on her emotions, especially when he failed to award her with an answer. The outcome confirming her suspicions and much to his surprise she didn't shout at him or anything in return. _

_All she did do instead was what she always did in a situation like this. Walk away from an argument in an effort to benefit the welfare of her son, especially in his need to have a stable family life. _

_That was how much one Lauren Poche cared, or "Loz" as Jim annoyingly nicknamed her._

_(End of Flashback)_

Much to her dismay things didn't change from that moment onward. In fact they had only grown worse leading to an outcome she was forced to now call reality.

The only thing she still had to keep her somewhat sane was Calum.

----------

An entire two weeks had passed now and not much had changed for one Kate Austen either.

After emptying the entire remnants of what she had managed to get in her since the last time this happened, she recovered thanks to some help from a slightly concerned Jane who was trying her best to support her friend and figure out the numerous amount of possibilities at the same time.

All of them leading to one thing that needed just one more question to confirm.

"How often has it been occurring?" Jane casually enquired once she managed to help Kate clean up, knowing that maybe she was out of line for asking something considered personal but at the same time she couldn't contain her curiosity.

"A few times. Why?" Kate replied in a half hearted manner while still trying to catch a hold on her breathing. Literally feeling like she had been on a rollercoaster ten times over. However being quizzed with such a question aroused nothing but confusion at first, but realisation soon set in and so did the shock and denial.

"C'mon." Kate added with an expression of absurdity in an effort to kill the suspicion and fear, more so on her part. However Jane seemed unwilling to give up and followed her friend out of the bathroom.

"What? I'm just saying that maybe your body is trying to tell you that you're.…." Jane started out but was suddenly cut off by a considerably changed Kate who just turned upon her, exuding an unexpected swell of emotion at knowing where this was going and also knowing what would ultimately happen if God forbid it turned out to be true.

She already had her suspicions since this morning.

"Oh my God, are…..are you?" Jane checked, going naturally wide eyed, especially when Kate bowed her head in response, allowing for her eyes to finally fall upon her flattened tummy.

"I….I don't know." She whispered through her tears as her hand automatically roamed around the designated expanse.

A part of her hoping that a precious culmination was dwelling beneath, and of course the other part hoping for the complete opposite mainly cause of the truth it would bring to light as a result.

If there was a baby it belonged to none other than the man she still couldn't get her mind of.

"Do you know who's it is?" Jane then asked the most dreaded question of all and it was no surprise that Kate was unwilling to reveal the sure identity of the Father.

"Well there's only one way to be sure." Jane proposed and in response Kate simply walked over to her bag and retrieved hold of an item that would put all the suspicion and curiosity to rest.

So she went into the bathroom to take the test, immensely grateful that Jane had waited on the other side of the door to grant Kate the privacy she felt she needed at a time like this.

Of course Kate was more than grateful to be issued it but sadly enough it still didn't ease her worry and fear.

Five painstakingly minutes later and it was finally time. With one last deep breath taken she stood from her seat on the end of the bathtub and walked over to the sink where the test now lay.

_Here goes, _ she said and then braced herself for the outcome.

"Oh my God." Was the next thing to then come out of her mouth and the pin drop silence within the room at that moment was enough for Jane to hear and then question with a "Katie is everything okay?"

Kate herself wasn't sure mainly cause of the big fat plus sign suggesting one firm result.

* * *

**What will happen now?**

**The next chapter will definitely explore this and more importantly what will Kate tell Jane?**

**Will Kate tell the Father?**

**I've already started typing up Chapter 10 so it can be up in ASAP time lol.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Back with a new update guys and sorry it couldn't be up sooner. As always thanks so so much for the amazing reviews. **

"I'm pregnant."

The concept wasn't foreign to her in the slightest. Though the concept of what it would signify not only to her but also to the people around her was.

The first question to of course come to mind was, _"What am I gonna do?"_

The second was something she couldn't bring herself to think let alone say because the chances of achieving some sense of understanding in return would be minimal, especially with Jane.

_The woman had been burned enough times__ to deal with explanations._

"Katie." She the heard her name being called again by the very person she was dreading to face now.

She had two options now. Lie and add another secret to the considerably growing pile or just come out with it all regardless of the consequences. Undoubtedly either choice would provide it's own share of complications, but with it all to consider she knew what had to be done.

This wasn't a game anymore.

So with that in mind she quickly washed up. Drying away the tears that had already surfaced and couldn't seem to stop with each worry filled moment, but she still hoped that this would be what she was starting to accept it as, more for herself rather than anyone else at this stage.

A blessing in disguise.

(Meanwhile)

In reality it had been two weeks, but to him it was a lot longer and the apparent fragility of his present condition gave him no choice but to be bed ridden regardless of his opposing wishes.

However in some ways being bed ridden gave him a proper chance to think over things. His memory of the events before the accident were a little hazy but he knew enough to know that things weren't right, specifically with his wife Sarah who seemed a bit too sweet for his liking. Almost as if she was hiding some big dark secret that he did have a vague recollection of but couldn't remember now due to the unfortunate consequence of his injury.

Although he took some hope in the fact of being affirmed that it would all come back in time.

The question was when?

The only things that were clear as the light of day were the basic things like his name, his profession, Sarah and a mysterious yet gorgeous green eyed brunette who seemed to slightly over ride his mind of late. To the point where it verged on itching desperation to simply know more about this woman other than her name. The memories he did have of her were enough to peak his interest and they sometimes branched beyond the borders of anything remotely appropriate which sparked a whole new wave of confusion.

Had he been a little more than friendly with this woman?

"Morning." A voice suddenly greeted him and he started out in a half hearted manner to clearly convey his frustration not just over literally loosing a chunk of his life, but also of the annoying tone he was currently being spoken to in.

"Hey." He decided to add out of the kindness of his heart when the person across failed to offer any form of expected assurance. It certainly wasn't too much to ask being that she was his wife after all.

That's the first thing she told him after he woke from a slumber he thought he would never escape.

It was no surprise that she was secretly delighted at learning of his memory loss after the accident. It certainly paved an easier path for the plans she still had in mind and would undoubtedly use to her benefit. However before all of that she needed to firstly regain the one thing that would jumpstart everything else, his trust. Once that was acquired the rest would follow and she hoped that he would forget any formidable threats, more so for her along the way.

The fact that he still knew the brunette's name didn't ease her worry in the slightest, but she also hoped that the woman's absence would slowly push any residual thoughts of her and what they might have had completely out of his mind.

"I got you something to eat." Sarah smiled while offering him the sandwich she had thankfully memorized was his favourite at the last minute. Much to her dismay he continued to ignore the gesture let alone regard the fact that she had entered the room in the first place.

Still she was relentless in her pursuit and would gladly shoulder this phase in an effort to achieve her primary goal. To earn the right to have the baby she still felt she was so wrongly denied.

Thankfully he hadn't remembered any of it to immediately state never wanting to see her again or completely dismiss any discrete hints later on that her biological clock was ticking.

"So how is it in there?" she decided to then ask, implying the obvious, half out of genuine concern but her curiosity to simply know overlapped considerably, and he was left with no real choice but to finally face and award her with an explanation, suddenly feeling a little bad for being so rude and insensitive when all he saw was concern within her gaze.

She was trying but for whose benefit?

It was a question he couldn't ask himself for the sole reason that his mind was too clouded with other things at the moment to even consider the telltale signs that this was in fact an act.

"Bits and pieces." He responded opting to roughly sum up a fraction of what was going on in his head. The rest was something he felt the need to keep to himself for the moment. The specifics were enough to shock him and he wasn't sure how the woman across would react to such thoughts lingering within his mind.

"What the hell is wrong with me", he mentally scolded himself with the obvious yet at the same time the sheer irresistibility behind the recurring image was simply too good to pass up or dismiss, and to be honest there was no harm in having the odd fantasy once in a while.

Even if it seemed almost real.

All he could see was a blurred yet slim and distinguishable silhouette slowing moving over him in a fairly suggestive manner. Her chocolate brown hair covering most of her face in a wild yet equally beautiful fashion, and he found himself not only entranced by the figure but also more wanting of the soft promises verbally issued to him through laboured breaths and the occasional prolonged moan of which he immediately returned with an equal fervour.

That was all he had seen of this reality so far and even though it was brief, it was enough to arouse his interest among other things that roused just a bit too much for his liking and embarrassment that was bound to follow as a result.

Luckily he was able to control and spare himself that very sense of embarrassment this time.

"Jack?" he suddenly heard his name being called out by the person now sitting next to him, and he reluctantly pulled himself out of his reverie to regard a reality he knew there was more to than what he was being shown at the moment.

If he was mistaken then who was this Kate woman and why couldn't he stop thinking about a broken array of memories revolving around a blurred woman he assumed was none other than her.

"You okay?" Sarah then asked while allowing her hand to lightly stroke the side of his face. A clear gesture to show the concern and comfort she was offering, but of course it was all being done for a reason that was for her to know and him to never find out. Not until she got what she wanted.

This was the first stage.

(A few blocks away)

The fights had grown worse over the past couple of days and she was honestly on the verge of a breakdown as a result. His behaviour towards Calum hadn't improved either and she couldn't help but wonder whether it ever would.

Not that she could blame him of course cause it's not everyday that you find out that the boy you've been fathering isn't biologically yours to begin with. Ever since then things had changed considerably, and she wondered whether that was the sole reason he strayed from their relationship and chose to find comfort in another woman's arms.

Still it didn't condone the fact that he did it not once or twice but several times. Sometimes not coming home for days on end and the only person left completely clueless through this whole ordeal was Calum.

Her only hope now was the plan.

"Loz!!" he loudly hollered as he wobbly entered the apartment. The reason for his present demeanour as strong as the liquor on his breath, and without hesitation she quickly tended to him before he woke Calum up.

The sight that welcomed her when she came downstairs wasn't one to be surprised with in the slightest and like practically every other night she resumed with the normal routine. Firstly by roughly escorting him to the couch and then trying to pry him and his liquor fuelled advances off her.

For some reason he seemed a tad more irritable and handsy tonight and the outcome left her feeling weary and honestly scared or her life. Being a constant witness to his hot temper had made him more than credible to go that one step further.

She already had the physical scars to prove it.

"You are beautiful." Jim growled with a smile to send shivers down her spine, and not the good kind.

"Eh, I gave you a compliment." He grumbled when she chose to ignore him and instead continued on with tucking him in, and when she was done she wordlessly made the move to walk away, but was stopped by his hand tightly gripping her arm, and without giving her any kind of warning he roughly pulled her back into him and proceeded to start with something that physically disgusted her, and with that she did something she'd been longing to do ever since the first time he hit her.

She slapped him good and hard.

"You little bitch!!" he hissed while using his weight to pin her down, but it was considerably hard to achieve due to her struggle beneath him and in an effort to gain the upper hand he retaliated with a solid back hander that erupted a yell loud enough to wake the sleeping boy upstairs.

"Please Stop!!" Lauren more or less begged when her efforts to fight back failed to bring him down. In fact all it did was strengthen his anger.

However it all changed when a third party decided to intervene as much as he could with shouting "Get off my Mommy". The penalty for his bravery being a solid blow to the face that lead the boy flying backwards, hitting his head on the edge of the coffee table on the way down.

"CALUM!!" Lauren shouted while pushing a sobering Jim off her with all her might. Her arms then reaching out for her unconscious and profusely bleeding son, and all Jim could do was look upon the scene with shock and realisation of what he had just done.

The gathering pool of blood was enough to suggest that it was serious.

--------

"So?" was the first thing Jane asked the moment Kate vacated the bathroom. The positive pregnancy test tucked away in her right hand and her mind still debating on whether she should reveal the news.

"You're….." Jane strived to then guess and all she received in return was a barely audible nod of agreement from Kate.

"Are…are you sure." Jane couldn't help but stress and Kate almost erratically resorted to frustration from that point onward.

"I think I know a plus sign when I freaking see one." Kate grumbled and immediately muttered an apology of which Jane somewhat accepted through the shock she still couldn't reel herself from, especially when she saw the result for herself.

"Wow"

"Yeah." Kate added with a bitter snicker right before sitting herself on the edge of the bed and covering her face to hide the tears that had gathered once again.

Suddenly feeling uneasy Jane half debated on leaving Kate alone with her thoughts, but there was one last thing she wanted to causally ask. Something that would end the confusion once and for all.

So with that in mind she sat herself next to the brunette and tried to find a way to come at this without sounding insensitive or coming across as nosy.

"So how far along do you think you are?" she started off, opting to ease into it all and to be honest it might just issue a vague guess as to who it was.

"Uh…a few weeks I think." Kate struggled to find a straight answer and unknownst to her the gears in Jane's brain were already working.

Still with doing it all Jane felt the simple need to ask.

"Do you know who the Father is?"

The one million dollar question of course and Kate's breath temporarily stilled upon being asked it. This was the make or break point and she hoped with every fibre of her being that Jane would somehow see past any residual jealousy and continue to be her friend.

_Here goes,_ Kate said bracing herself for the possible worst, but also keeping an open mind to a complete turnaround in her favour.

"It's Jack."

* * *

**Now what will Jane say to that?**

**Will she be what Kate hopes for her to be or will she completely freak out and hereby end the friendship that had been scarred once before. More will also be revealed on that incident too.**

**More importantly will Jack regain his memory in time to see right through Sarah?**

**Come next chapter and Jack receives a visitor……**

**Plus Lauren's plan? Will Calum be okay?**

**Chapter 11 this weekend? Yay or Nay? **


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Back guys and to make up for the delay here's**** a slightly longer chapter with a few surprises along the way. **

**Again thanks so much for the lovely and enthusiastic reviews. You have no idea how happy it makes me to know how much you guys are enjoying this fic, quotes and all. **

Shock wasn't really a suitable word to describe what she was feeling at the moment. However the anger and deceit she did feel came as no surprise to not only her but Kate as well.

_Seems like once wasn't enough__ for her_, Jane bitterly thought to herself while staring into the eyes of a woman she didn't know what to call now.

The kind of anger she was currently experiencing though rooted more from betrayal and the only other time she ever experienced something remotely similar to this magnitude was the incident with James.

A man she had never felt so sure and right about at the time, but of course none of that mattered because the feeling was far from mutual.

(Flashback – 3 years ago)

_At this point even a blind person could sense that something was very wron__g here. To be more precise the relationship she honestly felt was not only one sided but also done to achieve a greater purpose. That purpose being her very best friend or so she thought she was all this time._

_She knew that she wasn't the most attentive girlfriend by his standards, but she still hoped on some level that what she did strive to invest would be enough. Much to her dismay it wasn't that at all but more the fact that she wasn't Kate or "Freckles" as he so annoyingly nicknamed her._

_As much as it honestly annoyed her at times, especially when Kate didn't seem to fight him off; __she also knew that it was up to her as well to put her foot down and say something. Of course she always cowered in the face of an opportunity and little did she know that the end result would leave her heart broken to say the least._

_After __a fair amount of goading and some much needed assurance from Kate that nothing was going on between her and James, Jane finally relented with a sigh of relief and also gave into the olive branch Kate was offering for her supposed treachery. A private candlelit dinner for which she would be entirely in charge of preparing right down to the gourmet meal she had also suggested. _

_Of course the last part would have to do with some improvisation which in Kate's terms meant ordering in from a nearby restaurant and Jane just chuckled in return. Momentarily enjoying the light hearted moment and at the same time frowning upon it's rarity these days. _

"_Is all this animosity really worth our friendship, especially if it's all over a guy" Jane thought to remind herself feeling downright silly for having over reacted when she really didn't need to be because she knew now that Kate was not a manipulative person, especially towards her. _

_So with that in mind she discarded any residual doubts __from that point onward and focused more on tonight's events. Starting with what she was going to wear and Kate had even volunteered to help out with that as well, by already going ahead and picking out the perfect dress. _

_All of this not giving __Jane the slightest hint that it was maybe all being done for a reason after all. A reason only Kate knew and couldn't have the heart to tell Jane because it would surely shatter her. _

_Despite all the promises she was offered she still said "No", keeping Jane in mind and striving to also show that she truly wasn't__ as interested as James was in her, even after the attempted proposal._

_He just wasn't her type._

_Later that evening and Kate had just about finished preparing everything necessary to make this night special for Jane. The phone conversation she had had with James, telling him about tonight somehow turned more into a "getting to know what Freckles likes instead" chat and with one last warning issued towards him he surprisingly backed down and agreed to his last minute dinner date._

_**Ding**__, suddenly went the doorbell and without much reluctance of facing who she assumed was on the other side of the door, she answered it and was graced with a right guess._

"_James." She offered with a slight non suggestive smile but for some reason he took it the wrong way as always and then proceeded to try and work his manly charm on her._

"_So…" he started out with his usual Southern twang and an expression that made it's intent come across as nothing but creepy, and if it wasn't for Jane he would have gotten the "salesman slam the door in your face" treatment, but she contained herself in the end and stepped aside to let him in. Trying with all her might to not punch him when he deliberately brushed himself past her, allowing his hand to daringly linger on her right hip and before she could say or do anything he took hold of the position and trapped her against the door with his body. _

"_You are beautiful." He growled out before forcefully pressing his lips against hers. His hands urgently roaming across the recess of her slim built body, and then moving around to lock around her waist. Giving her next to no chance of escape, but still it didn't stop her from trying to._

"_James." She harshly breathed not so much in a wanting and lustrous manner but more a seething hateful intention, and by the time she managed to rip herself away from him it was too late. _

"_Jane it's…." she vowed to explain but she could see that Jane was well past the point of explanations and confronting it would only make matters more worse than they already were. _

_However that all changed when James decided to speak up with his brief version of what just happened._

"_I tried telling her baby but she wouldn't take no for an answer." James spoke to Jane making Kate look like a complete and utter fool. Though she still hoped that Jane would see through his act and believe what she was saying instead._

_Much to Kate's satisfaction and amusement Jane__ then responded by slapping the man hard in the face and then roughly pushing past both him and a gobsmacked Kate who didn't know what to think from that point onwards. Other than the obvious of course and she barely had a chance to stop her before Jane was clear and out of sight, leaving her with probably the last person she wanted to be with at the moment._

"_Get out." She hissed while trying to rein in her emotions and much to her relief James __surprisingly followed through with the instruction. A dirty smile still on his face for some apparent reason and the reason finally became clear to her when he turned around and said….._

"_Now we're the same." _

_The suggestion of his statement left no room for argument because she felt she was guilty to a certain extent for not fighting hard enough, and she couldn't help but wonder whether it was because some part of her wanted to give into him._

_To shamelessly dwell in a life built of nothing but loneliness, lies and deceit._

"_It's my punishment."_

(End of flashback)

"Déjà vu huh." Jane bitterly commented and this time Kate had nothing else to say other than accept the guilt she knew she deserved to be plagued with.

"I'm sorry." Was all she thought to offer instead half knowing that it was too late, but she also hoped that Jane would think to put herself in her shoes for a minute. Though the odds of achieving such a result were slim to none, especially with the way Jane was currently looking at her.

A look that could only be described as hatred and nothing else.

"You know I really thought that this time things would be different." Jane started out once she composed herself enough to speak. Her anger however still failing to die down the way her tears had now.

"I guess I was a fool to believe that you would ever change." She finished and felt like she had truly had enough of all of it.

She needed to get out of here.

"Jane, please just give me a chance to explain." Kate requested through her gathering tears but was stopped from going on any further cause honestly there wasn't much more to explain other than what Jane already knew.

"So I guess congratulations are in order then." Jane bitterly exclaimed and cast more or less a death glare upon the destination of Kate's clothed stomach, sending nothing but chills of fear down the brunette's spine.

However her first concern wasn't for her own life but for the life of her unborn baby.

"Congratulations, for allowing history to repeat itself. Have a nice life, now get out." Jane finished and then wordlessly walked off hoping that Kate would indeed get the inclination of her rather harsh suggestion.

Of course Kate put up no argument in return cause she felt she deserved it, but at the same time she admittedly had nowhere else to go. She thought to temporarily check herself into a Motel but she had her baby to consider now as well. So she ran upstairs to her bedroom and grabbed hold of her mobile. Calling the one person she knew would help her now without any questions asked.

She just hoped that he hadn't changed his phone number or something.

Three rings later and a familiar voice answered allowing for Kate to let go of the breath she had been holding.

"Hey, is everything……"

"Are you still at the Hospital?" Kate hurriedly asked opting to jump to the chase here because she was running out of time as it is.

The last thing she wanted was to be in a place where she wasn't wanted.

"Yeah, Kate's is everything alright?" Tom asked, immediately attracting the attention of the person he was currently in the room with; the person trying to search his mind for some sort of vague memory alongside that very name.

"Are you free now?" She decided to ask instead and without much hesitation Tom responded with a simple "sure" along with a proposed time as to when he was free to meet her.

"And Tom. Thanks." Kate thought to add feeling genuinely grateful that there was still someone she could rely on despite her obsessive need to always be independent, especially in situations like this.

-----

"Everything okay?" Tom found himself being asked by the man in the hospital bed and Tom just chuckled at the irony of the scene.

"Yeah, just patient related stuff." Tom passed it off but Jack sensed that it was a lot more than that. The expression over the man's face was blatant enough to suggest it.

However the one question he asked himself was how did he know Kate?

For some reason Jack suddenly became bothered by not knowing the question to that answer. It almost felt a bit like jealousy which managed to do nothing but confuse him for the obvious reason. Yet he couldn't seem to shake the feeling off so with that Jack causally asked about her out of curiosity and the physical description he got in return started to come across as vaguely familiar to him.

The piercing green colour of her eyes, her thick wavy brown hair and the light spreading of freckles he could almost envision within his mind's eye now. It was only then that his mind flashed back to another memory.

"_Let's go upstairs."_

He found none other than himself saying those words to the same woman who had literally plagued his mind every waking part of the day.

The past two weeks to be precise.

"_She really likes you and she's been through so much already that the last thing she needs is me adding to that pain." _

"Who was this she?" He thought to ask himself and then assumed that she may have been talking about Sarah, but the specific wording of the statement forced him to rely on the possibility that she was referring to someone else altogether.

"_And what if I like you instead? What if all I wanna do right now is take you upstairs and show you how much I want you and how much I know you wanna feel this inside you."_

The suggestions were shockingly clear here and what shocked him more was the extent of his rather lewd forwardness with this woman. Surely he wouldn't treat an ordinary friend in this sort of way.

"Jack?" he then heard his name being called out and immediately frowned when he found he was no longer within the dream but now facing a confused looking Tom.

"Where did you go?" Tom then proceeded to ask and Jack had to rein himself in from expressing the specifics cause it would surely raise an eyebrow.

Though he wasn't sure what Tom would think about it all.

(Meanwhile)

"Help! Help me!" Lauren exclaimed as she rushed in through the main Hospital entrance holding Calum in her arms and searching for the nearest Doctor. Thankfully one came to her rescue and all she could do was look on with a hopeful heart as she watched her boy being placed on a stretcher and then wheeled off towards the emergency ward.

"What happened?" the Doctor asked while continuing to focus and check the current vitals of the boy below him.

"He….he fell." Lauren stuttered to properly explain and it wasn't due to the tears but more cause of the blatant lie she had just told.

Why was she still covering for the guy?

Searching for answer to that question would have to be saved for another time because all she could focus on at the moment was Calum and each word the Doctor was saying to the other surrounding nurses concerning the boy from that point onward.

Once they reached the boundaries of the emergency ward she was stopped much to her dismay and annoyance but in an effort to not delay anymore time she followed through with the nurses' instruction in the end and allowed for Calum to be taken through, leaving her in a right state of worry.

He had to be okay. He just had to be.

An entire two hours later and she still received no word, but as she was just on the point of barging in through the doors of the emergency ward regardless of what might happen to her, she was finally graced with a sight of sheer relief for her. However the same couldn't be said for the expression the Doctor was currently exuding.

For once she just wanted her prayers to be answered.

* * *

**So is Calum in fact okay or is it too late? **

**Come next chapter Kate and Tom have an interesting conversation. In turn making sense of a lot of things and Tom may just be left shocked by the end of it all…..**

**Plus Kate has something else to ask of Tom.**

**A quick update can follow and this time I mean it****. However it's all up to you guys.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**A massive thank you to everyone who reviewed and all I can say is hang in there guys cause their time will come, just like on the show. This is just the tip of the iceberg for "Dilemma"……**

**As you guys may or may not know I always like to award the special number reviewers, and since we're approaching the big 100 I thought it would be fitting to give a little back so the 100****th**** reviewer get's a prize. It may be Dilemma related....**

_His vision was a considerable blur but __that could have been due to the thick heat currently engulfing his entire body as it rhythmically moved against another smaller one with a similar emanating heat. His mind temporarily marvelling at how well each curve of this person's body moulded against the length of his own, and it was only then that his mind caused him to wonder and question this image of perfection._

_Could it possibly be her?_

_The very woman he had been dreaming about non stop ever since his accident._

"_Jack." She moaned while frantically thrashing her head from side to side to somehow ride out the gathering explosion she was almost on the verge of passing out from. _

_He answered her plea with a breath stealing kiss and found this "dream" version of him mouthing something before dragging his lips down the frame of her jaw and then moving to the curve of her arching neck. _

_The majority of her body now lay tightly wrapped around him and he the same with her. Their mouths making equal explorations of each other but naturally he got more of a chance to further it due to their current position, and she was simply too caught up in the feel of his dizzying ministrations to even think of interrupting it in any way or manner whatsoever._

_The very thought of this kind of dominance over her only caused him to harden even more within her, wordlessly demanding nothing except a firm change in pressure and pace. _

_Thrust after thrust and he felt himself delving even deeper into her searing yet equally accommodating warmth. His own gathering a matching strength of it's own as he followed through with picking up the pace. His reason for the change due to a distinct change in the internal grip she had on his fully hardened and pulsating arousal._

_All she did was literally purr in excitement to the change in his pace while tightening the grip her legs had around his thrusting waist. Her face still lay hidden from him by a coating of thick wavy brown hair, and as much as his body was thoroughly caught up in the pleasurable physicality of this moment, he wanted to also take the chance and finally prove his growing assumptions right._

_So with that he sneaked his free hand up, all the while still maintaining the bed creaking rhythm he had originally set in motion; and __cleared the sweaty sheen of hair away from the face of the person he was currently loving, and the first thing he saw were those hazel green eyes. The physical distinction causing him to elicit a name his mind had become more than familiar with of late._

"_Kate."_

Within a flash the next thing he woke to was the Hospital bed he was currently lying in. His body still hot and immensely aroused from the dream he had just had. Although the more he thought about it and the more it felt like a memory. The experience was simply too real and tangible to dismiss as an ordinary sex dream.

The smell of her lily scented skin still tantalising his senses.

"Damnit." He then muttered to himself in sheer frustration of not being able to put the pieces together. However he took some comfort in the fact that he knew what she looked like.

That would suffice somewhat for now.

What it didn't suffice however was the very noticeable bulge that he had no choice but to hide and gradually sooth, knowing that it would have been too late and explosively worse if he had woken up a few minutes later.

"God, I need some fresh air." He then suggested to himself once he was successful in taking care of his physical embarrassment.

"I'm back sweetie."

_Shit._

--------

She sat in her car in the parking lot of the Hospital. Her mind still debating over whether she should still go through with something her heart was aching to think about let alone have the courage to physically follow through with. Regardless of the circumstances she always wanted to be a Mother, but the tragic cost of finally having that wish granted was something she didn't want and it was that, that forced her to make this unfortunate choice in the end.

"Besides, Jack would be better of as well if it were this way."

So with that somewhat affirmed, she got out of her car and headed towards the Hospital's main entrance. Her mind still conflicted but her seemingly better judgement was what gave her the courage to do this.

"Hey" Tom casually greeted the brunette the moment he caught sight of her, immediately sensing the falseness behind her smile but unwilling to state his concern in any way. So he accepted the friendly hug she offered once she approached him and then politely ushered her into his office.

"Please, sit uh……hold on." Tom started out and then broke off when he discovered that there was really no place amongst his dishevelled office to in fact regard as a suitable seating area.

Thankfully Kate wasn't one to resort to harsh snobbery in such situations, so with some mere substitution she made the next best thing to a seat, a stack of Medical books.

"So how have you been?" he then proceeded to ask her while clearing the last of the mess off his desk. However he came to a complete halt when nothing but silence fell upon his question.

"Katie is everything okay?"

This time round all he got was a sniffle, and like an alarm he was alerted to it and immediately allowed the extent of his concern for her to show through when he bent himself down to her level and raised her tear streaked face to finally meet his.

"I'm sorry." She attempted to apologise through her tears but Tom simply pulled her into his embrace while soothing her with his voice.

"Hey, hey you don't have to apologise for anything." He coaxed while maintaining a slightly tighter hold on the brunette in his arms.

They spent the next few minutes like that and honestly if it were left up to Tom he would kept them that way for the rest of his life, but he refrained himself from doing so in the end and reluctantly released her.

"What happened?" he enquired instead, allowing for the concerned friend in him to show.

"I'm pregnant." She revealed in a barely audible whisper yet achieved a similar wide eyed expression from the man across.

"Wow, I mean uhh wow." Was all he could offer through his shock while trying to also hide his disappointment over what this meant for him and the plans he had for them.

"Yeah, that's what Jane said right before she kicked me out." Kate slipped up with a clear bitter demeanour in her tone, and it managed to peak Tom's interest and confusion at the same time. The latter won out due to the rather absurd placing of her statement. He had known Jane long enough to know that she would never do something like that, especially to Kate.

"Why would she do that?" he naturally asked knowing that it wasn't just an unusual reaction but an incredibly insensitive one too. What he didn't think to consider however was the significant reason behind it, and with a deep breath taken she then went on to tell him the whole story. In the bargain allowing for him to also put the pieces of the puzzle together on the whole Jack situation and he didn't know whether to be happy or pissed at the guy he used to regard as one of his best friends. More importantly he couldn't believe that Jack would do something like this to Sarah.

"I need to ask you something." Kate took the chance to ask the thing she was still dreading to go through with.

"Uh, okay." He replied clearly too stunned by what he had just heard to be coherent enough to catch onto where this was heading.

What came out of her mouth next was enough to put him on the spot. Not because of what it obviously entailed but more of what this could mean for him as a result.

---------

"Is he okay?" she asked while trying to dismiss the worry of considering otherwise and the Doctor's prolonged moment of silence didn't help in any way whatsoever.

"He lost a considerable amount of blood on the way here but we managed to stabilise him in time."

"So…" she felt the need to stress in an effort to hear the words that would evoke nothing but relief. The last thing she wanted was for Calum to pay the price for her mistake.

"He's gonna be fine." The Doctor confirmed with a smile Lauren shared through her tears of elation and relief for the best thing that could have happened to her.

"Can I see him?" she then took the chance to ask and immediately frowned when she was politely refused from doing so. The Doctor's excuse being that Calum needed a lot of rest, but she sensed that there was a lot more to it.

"Please, I just….I need to be with my son." She begged despite the Doctor's opposing wishes and much to her dismay her plea was simply answered with the subtle suggestion of seeking medical help for herself. Naturally she took his insinuation as an insult and then resorted to physically pushing past, but all it did was make an unnecessary scene.

"Hey!! Let her go!!" a voice suddenly shouted upon arriving to observe the scene of this distressed woman being hauled around like a ragdoll.

Much to Lauren's shock the security Guards immediately seized their hold on her, yet she was still too caught up in her anger to even regard the person who was now looking upon her with nothing but shock.

Him not having seen this woman since that fateful night two years ago. A night that would surely go down as one of the best moments of his life, but he was more than sure that the feeling wasn't mutual. If so then why did she just up and leave without a trace.

"Commisioner Stevenson." one of the Guards uttered almost in fear of what they had heard of this man.

"I can take it from here guys." The man declared to the two armed Guards before him while gaining a firm hold on the woman he still couldn't believe he was seeing much less touching again.

"Are you okay Miss?" he asked opting to clearly play dumb to the whole situation because the last thing he wanted to do was chase her away again.

"I have to….." Lauren started out in nothing more than grumble but she broke off mid sentence when she allowed herself the chance to gaze upon her rescuer.

"It's you."

_It can't be him. Can it?_

--------

"Are you sure you wanna do this Kate?" the still caring friend in Tom thought to ask, knowing how hard something like this could be on a woman.

"I don't have a choice." She regrettably explained through her growing wave of emotions. Literally feeling like her heart was breaking with each minute spent thinking about what she had done and what she carelessly allowed to progress at the time.

The lover in him wanted to keep his mouth shut and support the decision she had just made and affirmed him off, but at the same time the friend in him knew it was an incredibly selfish way to get what you wanted.

There were other methods.

"Katie, look at me." He firmly vowed while grabbing hold of her shoulders to gain her attention. Once it was achieved somewhat he continued on with what he wanted to get across.

"You don't have to do this."

"But what if….."

"Do you trust me?" he cut her off in a determined manner, refusing to let her beat herself up for this anymore.

"Yes."

"Then believe me when I say that you don't have to go through this alone." He confirmed while pulling her into his arms. His lips briefly landing on the side of her head and then muttering something she could barely hear through her break down.

"We can do this together."

* * *

**So what plans does Tom have and more importantly will Jack ever find out about his baby?**

**Who is this "He" Lauren is shocked to see and what happened between them two years ago?**

**Come next chapter and Tom's plans start to unfold. We start to find out more about Lauren's "He" and he may just have a surprising connection with one other character in this fic. **

**Plus finally some current jate…….**

**Chapter 13?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**First off I can't believe this fic passed the 100 barrier lol. Thanks so much guys and I hope the 100th** **reviewer liked their present. Although don't worry cause I'll be doing the same if this fic reaches the 200 stage and so on and so forth lol. However there is a "LOT" more of this story to tell; new characters/ surprises and all. **

**Philadelphia: ****Calum is Lauren's two year old son, but Jim, Calum's Father is doubtful that Calum is in fact his. More will be revealed concerning that as the fic progresses. In fact this Chapter might start to drop a few hints. Hope that helps hon and thanks for reviewing :)**

The journey back to his place was a quiet and uncomfortable one for the most obvious reason of course. However she was still thankful that he came through for her just like he always did, regardless of what happened between them in the past.

Funnily enough the only thing that plagued her mind now was Jack. She knew he had every right in the world to know about the baby she couldn't have the heart to abort despite what everyone else thought of her and this pregnancy, including Tom.

He may have put on a convincing front the entire time, but she could sense that he wasn't all that overjoyed at the fact that she was having another man's baby. His best friend much to her shock and surprise but it still failed to change the way she felt about a man she barely knew yet still couldn't stop thinking about.

She had contemplated asking Tom about him back at the Hospital, but she restrained herself from doing so in the end. Knowing that her mere presence would complicate things and adding the revelation of a baby to the mix would surely land her in deeper hot waters, and not just with Sarah.

_Could he possibly__ be happy about this?_

"He still needs to know." She took note to still mentally affirm herself, putting it at the very top of her seemingly endless list of things to do.

"So what do you wanna do?" she found herself being asked by the man beside her in the driving seat. His gaze alternating between her and the road ahead of them, but his focus chose her when silence followed his casual question.

It wasn't that she didn't want to tell him, it's just that she was as clueless as he was about how everything would somehow come together. Plus she didn't want to rub her and Jack's relationship or whatever they had in his face.

"Katie? You okay?" he then asked allowing for his concern to shine through. Though Kate couldn't seem to decipher where it solely rooted from, but she was offered a daring hint in the shape of his freehand reaching out to grasp hers and thankfully she managed to quickly manoeuvre a discrete change of position.

She saw him as a friend now, nothing more.

Thankfully he took the hint and kept to himself for the rest of the journey, but Kate started to feel bad about what she had just done.

"_All he's trying to do is help_ _."_

However in her defence she was emotionally distraught as it was. The last thing she needed was the addition of something she was afraid would surface if she were to go through with this.

The only thing I need to focus on now is this baby.

Ten minutes later and they were pulling into the rather spacious driveway alongside his equally extravagant mansion. Of course to him it probably wasn't but to her it was mesmerising to say the least. In fact she was so caught up in admiring the scenery that she didn't even hear or feel him moving to escort her towards the front door.

"I can carry it." Kate naturally argued over the one bag she had managed to salvage before Tom got to it.

"Please, just humour me." Tom replied with a chuckle and walked past her to open the door. Soon disappearing within the depths of his place and leaving Kate to simply follow.

The first thing her eyes landed on the moment she entered was the relatively large picture frame standing alone on the side stand it was placed on. The memory it held bringing an immediate smile to her face.

A time when she thought things were so simple and mapped out in the way they were originally set.

Without thinking she picked it up and admired the picture within the frame, still remembering that day like it was yesterday.

(Flashback)

"_Is it on? I don't think it's on."_

"_It's on." _

"_Okay, this is Kate Austin and Tom Brennan and this is our dedication for our time capsule, here on August 15_ _th_ _, 1989. Hey, give me that back."_

"_Why are you putting this stupid thing in there Katie?"_

"_Because it's cool, Tom. It's the one thing we made together."_

"_Fine."_

"_Besides, it'll be totally cool when we dig it up in like 20 years."_

"_How do you know we'll be together?"_

"_Because we'll be married Tom and you'll be a Daddy and we'll have 9 kids."_

(End of Flashback)

She wondered if it was still in the very place they had later buried it. However regardless of it all a lot had changed since then. She was no longer the optimistic and carefree person she used to be, plus Jack and this baby were in the picture now.

"You still think it's there?" she physically jumped upon him asking her and before she could make a move to grab it, the picture frame fell and shattered. The sound reverberating throughout the entire house, but what captured her more was the symbolism of what the frame showed now.

Shattered pieces of a memory that could never become a reality no matter how much time or devotion was issued to forcefully make it one.

There were bigger things at stake now and they wordlessly demanded precedence over something that merely could have been.

"Here." Tom offered, clearly oblivious to her current train of thought and in an effort to spare him the heartache she kept it to herself and tried to instead be a grateful friend.

So did the same go for Jack?

--------------

"Lauren?" the man exclaimed still in complete shock of finding her after all this time.

"Caleb?" Lauren simply responded with a matching sense of shock.

_What were the odds?_

"What are you doing here?" she then naturally asked almost in fear but she managed to quickly hide it behind her shock of seeing him.

"I could ask you the same thing." The man replied not being able to hide the hurt within his tone.

"Oh." Was all Lauren could think to mouth in light of what he just meant by his statement.

"Didn't think I was going to find you did you." He shot back in a harsh manner not even caring about her feelings at this point because his had already been built with hope, shattered and then stepped upon with seeing her here and acting so nonchalant about everything.

It was no surprise that she cowered in response to his anger towards her. Although in her defence she was so thoroughly afraid at the time as to what he might think. So in a way she hoped that he would think that what she did was mainly to benefit them and what they had.

"I….I have to go excuse me." She briefly conveyed opting to avoid this because it was all too much for her to take in at the moment.

A part of him wanted to stop her from running away again but the other part was too consumed by anger to even think of making an effort.

"You're here to see him, that's all." He firmly reminded himself but couldn't stop the pain from striking his heart at watching history repeat itself.

"Maybe it doesn't."

_Get real man. She's probably well over you anyway_ , he said to himself before heading off towards the Reception area to ask about the person he was here to see.

-----------

"My room is just down the hall so if you ever need anything just…."

"Thanks Tom and thanks once again for doing this." Kate stated in all honesty of what she felt, and he simply smiled while accepting the friendly hug she also offered him in the midst of her thanks.

"What are friends for eh." He joked and had to physically restrain himself from pulling her body even closer into him. The very feel of her in his arms again evoking nothing but a sense of longing, both physically and emotionally though one seemed to over ride the other when she accidentally bumped her pelvis into his while moving to pull away from him.

In an effort to hide his groan of excitement, he covered it fairly well with a cough and then tried to revert to his usual self once again. Temporarily marvelling at the effect she still had on him after all these years.

_Maybe this moving in thing was a blessing in disguise_ , he couldn't help but assume feeling something he hadn't felt in a good long while, hope.

"Okay, so I'll see you this evening and is Chinese okay for you?" He offered starting to soak up more of this light hearted feeling he was being overwhelmed with the longer he stood in front of her.

"Uh, yeah sure that sounds good." She replied slightly curious by his sudden change in behaviour around her, but she decided to let it go in the end and simply smiled while seeing him off.

With him gone she went straight to the phone, dialling in a number with one specific person in mind.

She just had to know if he was okay. Surely there was no harm or disrespect shown in casually enquiring about the welfare of her unborn baby's Father.

However the news she eventually received over the phone was dissatisfying to say the least.

So she placed the phone down and grabbed hold of the spare key Tom had given her, and it was only then that she realised something she had clearly forgotten in the midst of her emotional trauma.

"My car."

Luckily the Hospital wasn't that far away.

(Back at the Hospital)

The nurses hadn't told him much apart from the room number he was now approaching, and he immediately narrowed his gaze in hatred upon seeing the one person he hoped Jack would have gotten rid of by now.

"Caleb? What are you doing here?" the blonde dumbly asked in genuine surprise upon seeing him here in the flesh. The last time she did see him was at the wedding and she knew the only reason he was there was because of Jack.

"Well, Sarah I still care about my Brother unlike some people." Caleb more or less grumbled and then roughly pushed past her to get to Jack's door, not even caring about what she might think at this point.

"Yeah well you're one to talk!! I'm not the one who disappears for months on end so don't you dare come here and make me out to be the bad guy when you know….."

"That it's the truth." Caleb took it upon himself to finish what he believed was a fact and the sheer proof of it was her silence when he turned around to face her.

"Yeah, it's what I thought so why don't you go back to "grading your papers". I'm sure they don't wanna be kept waiting." He sarcastically added and then walked into Jack's room, slamming the door shut and leaving the trembling blonde defeated and gobsmacked.

His implication was something she couldn't deny no matter how much she tried to convince not only herself but also the man she thought she loved.

The man she was prepared to love for the baby she still wanted.

"I'm not giving up."

So why was she still admittedly afraid?

* * *

**Sarah seems unwilling to give up Jack, but will her new found determination still make a difference in the way Jack really feels despite his memory loss?**

**So we now know that Lauren's "He" is actually Jack's younger brother Caleb I can officially confirm and more will be revealed concerning that. **

**Next** **Chapter: Kate decides to kill two birds with one stone and decides to finally pay someone a little visit. I wonder who hmmm lol. Jealous Jack. Plus we'll learn more about our new character "Caleb" and more importantly what possibly went on between him and Lauren.**

**Caleb will be sticking around as one of the prominent characters in this fic.**

**Unfortunately moi is back at College on Tuesday but if you guys want I can have** **an update up a lot sooner than anticipated, cause I have the next chapter pretty much planned out. All that's needed is to type it up, but i'll leave it up to you guys to decide......**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Your wait is finally over….well we're well on the way there lol.**

**Thanks for the reviews guys.**

She moved past the phase of self blame and stupidity and instead focused on the hope that her car would still be there.

Much to her relief it was in the very place she had parked it. However it was only then that she realised where she was and whether she really should or not.

Did she really have to question it?

--------

"Hey." Caleb casually welcomed his brother as he popped his head through the door still a tad weary of what Jack would say about him being back. It was the one fear he had and of course Sarah had to be there to remind him of it, but despite it all he hoped that his brother would see past it all and understand where he was coming from in the process.

However Jack's look of confusion and cluelessness was something he could have never estimated in the slightest.

_What_ _exactly happened to him after the accident? _

"Jack, it's me Cal." Caleb stated not being able to hide the confusion or fear he felt with Jack's silence.

"Your brother." He added and Jack literally felt like someone had just knocked the wind out of him.

"_I have a brother?" _ he asked himself and tried to search his mind for some relevant clue or memory of the man standing in front of him.

He was still in the bits and pieces stage when it came to things that didn't include the name "Kate".

Caleb, sensing the his brother's distress, decided to be the patient person he was and gradually got him up to speed, leaving Jack to seriously wonder why Sarah failed to tell him about all of this.

-------

She didn't really know why she was so nervous about seeing him again, and at one point debated upon giving into her fear and running away, but the pinging sound and stalling of the elevator she was in clearly suggested that it was too late.

It was time to face the music. Starting with the first person she spotted the moment the elevator doors opened.

(Meanwhile – on the other side of Jack's Hospital room door)

She had been listening in on the entire conversation for the obvious reason of course, and the minute she sensed that Caleb was about to spill the beans and ruin her plan, she moved to open the door and make her presence known, shutting Caleb up in the bargain, but she was stopped short from doing so for the second time today when she slightly turned herself around and came fact to face with none other than…

"Kate?"

"Hello Mrs. Shepherd." Kate chose to respectfully regard the blonde woman as, yet still sensing her presence may have come across as inappropriate judging by the way Sarah was looking at her.

If only looks could kill.

"Can I help you with something?" Sarah asked opting to give this woman the cold shoulder for a reason she now surmised was a fact. Regardless of it all she was still willing to overlook it and forgive him for his infidelity just like she hoped he would for hers if he were to suspect it.

As much as Kate found herself disliking the person before her, she knew that what she did with Jack gave her no valid excuse to feel that way in the first place. If anything she felt that Sarah had more than earned the honour of feeling that way and worse about her instead.

"Um, I…..your Husband and I are……" Kate stuttered to get across clearly at a loss for words let alone a good cover up story. However the more she took note of the way Sarah was currently eyeing her and the more she surmised that maybe Sarah did know.

"Friends?" Sarah guessed trying to show the brunette that she was completely dumb to what she knew was really going on.

"Yeah, and I just wanted to see him and find out if….." Kate spontaneously chose to go with the referral but was barely given the chance to finish by Sarah who thought it was about time to dole out the "turn down excuse".

"Actually he's resting at the moment but I'll be sure to tell him that you came by." Sarah explained while exuding her best attempt at a fake smile, but it disappeared within seconds when the addition of a third voice not only made itself known, but also sang a very different story.

One that Sarah did nothing but scowl at, especially when Caleb seemed to warm and grow encouraging towards the brunette opposite her.

"_What is it with her and the Shepherd men?"_

Caleb on the other hand took an almost immediate and genuine liking towards the brunette. There was just something about her that came across as everything a man wanted in a woman. So much so that he suddenly found himself wanting to explore the possibility of maybe achieving something more than friendship.

"_It's too soon."_ He reminded himself even though in reality it had been two years since his last serious relationship.

"Hi, I'm Caleb. Caleb Stevenson."

"I'm Kate." The brunette responded in a matching friendly tone and expression, but Caleb's changed to one of surprise and realisation upon hearing her name.

"Ah, so you're Kate." He felt the need to state with a raise of the eyebrow while Kate furrowed hers into one of confusion. She was fairly sure that she had never seen or met this man before. Though there was something in his gaze that reminded her of Jack for some reason.

"Seems you've been on my Brother's mind a lot lately." Caleb boldly added completely forgetting the fact that a now fuming Sarah was playing a reluctant witness to the whole conversation.

No matter what else she tried to think of at that moment, it couldn't stop the blush from spreading across the surface of her lightly freckled cheeks. The sight alone enough to infuriate Sarah even more and it continued to rapidly grow when Caleb took it upon himself to then give Kate "the okay" with what she had come here to do.

Of course Kate was a tad reluctant in going through with it due to the way Sarah was reacting to it all. As much as a part of her wanted to admittedly rub this in Sarah's face and tell where to step off, she knew that the task was easier said than done. Besides the last thing she wanted to do was disrupt the much needed rest Jack needed after the tragedy he had unfortunately endured.

However after being affirmed that Jack was more than wide awake, Kate felt no reason to not pay him a little visit, and Sarah couldn't say anything except accept the liar she was just made out to be.

With one last filthy look cast towards the blonde, Caleb placed his hand on the doorknob and opened the door to Jack's room for Kate to enter.

Sarah was still far from done.

-------

To label what he was currently feeling as confusion was a serious understatement, but what he still couldn't begin to fathom was why this was kept from his knowing. Though the unlocking of his room door at that moment stilled his thoughts and they were close to forgotten when he then saw who entered through the door.

"Hey" she greeted him with a smile he couldn't help but return.

"She's here. She's actually here." It was the only thing his mind kept on repeating in his mind with each minute while he tried to convince himself that this was in fact real.

"I think you're meant to say "Hey" back." Caleb joked in sheer and utter amusement of the scene before him, and Kate couldn't help but chuckle to herself when Jack still failed to say anything except to keep his eyes firmly planted on her and nothing else.

Silence

Silence……

"Okay, so I'm gonna go and leave you guys to do the whole catching up thing or….."

"Cal" Jack warned the man before he could go any further with where he assumed that suggestion was heading. Besides it being inappropriate

"Alright, alright." Caleb relented with a laugh and then turned himself towards Kate, resorting to his gentlemanly ways by taking hold of her hand and kissing the top of it.

"It was really nice meeting you Kate." He finished with a smile and a wink of which Kate just blushed in the face of, but the same couldn't be said for Jack who looked upon the scene, more so the gesture with a look that couldn't be mistaken for anything other than jealousy.

However she dismissed her assumption as absurd in the end and tried to focus on what would happen once she and Jack were finally alone.

They had a lot of things to talk about, but who would go first?

(Meanwhile- Outside)

Her options were fairly minimal at this point apart from the one she would have saved as a last resort, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

So she flipped open her cell phone and dialed a number she knew would help her without any hesitance.

* * *

**So what's Sarah up to now and more importantly will Kate tell Jack about the baby?**

**I was originally going to include the Jate talk in this chapter, but I wanted to give it a significant amount of importance. So it will explored in detail in the next chapter. That is a promise I can assure along with a quick update if you guys want it :)**

**Next Chapter: The talk and Sarah's plan may just be someone we already know……**

**More will also be revealed concerning Caleb's difference in a last name.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Okay so not as quick as I ** **had originally estimated but anyhoo here it finally is guys, the Jate talk….**

**Thanks for the lovely reviews.**

**The next update on schedule for moi is the mevie one "A guy, a girl and a trailer". That too has a little surprise in store…..**

_They had been officially dating for a month now and_ _naturally he felt like doing something special to celebrate the best thing in his life at the moment. _

_To anyone who wasn't him they'd probably say that he was over exaggerating the situation but after the hell he had been through growing up, this was surely the bright light at the end of that tunnel for one Caleb Stevenson. _

_Lauren._

_Of course she was_ _breathtakingly beautiful in his eyes but there was just something about her that instantly clicked with him. _

_Like they had met in another life or something._

_Regardless of his superstitious way of thinking he wasted no time in spending as much time with her as he could. Simply marvelling at how much they happened to share in common and by the end of it he wanted nothing more than to make things between them official. _

_Legally speaking of course._

_He'd be lying if he said that it hadn't crossed his mind, but he also took into account the possibility of rejection at this early sta_ _ge in the relationship. More on Lauren's part because he already knew that she was it for him. However the more he thought about it and the more he felt like maybe risking it might just work in his favour. _

_So with that in mind he went about planning everything. Opting to obviously keep Lauren out of the loop the whole time which was a considerably hard task to achieve in itself, but he managed to still keep his plans under wraps. Right down to the one element he felt was a visually perfect representation of the bond and relationship they shared._

_Now all she had to say was yes._

_Lauren Eliza_ _beth Stevenson. He thought it had a nice ring to it at the time._

(End of flashback)

He always wondered if his life would have been any different if that night turned out the way he had predicted and hoped, but it didn't so what was the point of spending any more time thinking about "what if".

"I need to move on." The perturbed man affirmed himself, but still couldn't help but wonder about the past, especially now that he had found her again.

The one and only person he had ever loved in his entire life.

The question was would history be doomed to repeat itself if he were to consider giving them a second chance?

_What was so different now?_

--------

"He still doesn't remember but I'm afraid he eventually will. He's going to find out everything and then….."

"Don't worry I've got a plan Sarah. Just go in and play nice until you hear from me again." The voice on the other end of the phone suggested in a monotonous manner but Sarah still failed to confront it in any way, knowing by reputation that this person was not be trifled with.

"Okay."

"And Sarah…"

"Yeah"

"I love you honey."

"Love you too Dad."

Little did Sarah know that she too was being played for.

-------

The air was thick with tension and uncertainty for reasons one didn't know about the other, but someone had to end this silence and thankfully Kate then took it upon herself to break it.

"So, how are you?" she decided to ask, oddly feeling like she was talking to a different person altogether, but there was slight hint of familiarity within his gaze that somehow gave her the encouragement to continue instead of bolting for the door.

"I……I'm getting there." Jack stated with an encouraging smile and Kate regarded it with a matching gesture and an agreeing nod of understanding, blushing at one point when his stare took careful note of her every action. However the moment soon dissolved into an uncomfortable silence once again, but Kate's slight fidgeting gave Jack the strong impression that she wasn't just here on a friendly visit.

Something was wrong and he automatically found himself wanting to know what it was. His concern rooting solely from the care that had already developed on a level that couldn't be classed as friendly.

Not after what his mind had shown and made him feel as a result.

"Kate is….." he leaned forward to enquire but was rather rudely interrupted by Sarah simply barging into the room with a cheesy smile and a "hey sweetheart" to make her presence and current standing with Jack fairly well known to the brunette across who in turn felt like she didn't belong here, but as her gaze fell upon her flat abdomen, she knew she had a valid reason to be here.

She was still carrying his child.

It was something that could change things for better or worse, but was this really the right time or place to reveal such a life changing secret?

Much to her dismay she was left with no choice but to pick another time for this. Witnessing Sarah getting inappropriately intimate with Jack was certainly not on her list of pleasantries.

So with a muttered "excuse me" Kate bowed her head to hide the discomfort and disgust she felt and couldn't seem to differentiate because the over riding feeling of jealousy she admittedly felt made her want to do things she would never think she was capable of.

"_I need to get out of here."_ She told herself while attempting to physically follow through with the logical suggestion, but as if sensing her discomfort Jack managed to pry himself away from Sarah's rather forceful advances. He was in no mood to be on good terms with her let alone treat her like the wife he honestly didn't want to know now.

"Kate!!" an unmistakable voice suddenly called out to her the moment she made the first step towards the door. Left with no opposing choice she turned herself around to be met with a sight that caused her to restrain a bout of cheer.

It seemed that Sarah's lewd forwardness did nothing but backfire in her face and Jack's current expression of disgust was enough to confirm Kate's assumptions.

"Could you give us a little privacy?"

"Oh, err I'm sure Kate wouldn't mind if…..." Sarah replied trying her best to disregard the fact that Kate was there. Daring to then resume with it but Jack made his intentions clear this time as he physically backed his head away in annoyance. Honestly not knowing what she was trying to achieve here, but it all became crystal clear when his eyes landed upon a very awkward looking Kate. Her arms crossed tightly over her chest and her gaze focused on the floor beneath her.

"Sarah." Jack warned in a low and almost threatening tone while keeping his eyes firmly trained on Kate and the sheer amount of discomfort strongly noticeable in her physical composure.

With one last dirty and equally suggestive look of warning directed towards Kate, Sarah reluctantly got off the edge of Jack's bed and left the room in an expected huff. The slamming of the door coming off as nothing but short of immature to both Kate and Jack.

"Sorry about that. She can be a little…."

"Possessive." Kate blurted it out before she even took the time to think of how Jack would take it and much to her surprise he simply chuckled to himself while saying…..

"Yeah, among other things." He bitterly added, mumbling the last part to himself while remembering what Caleb had told him earlier on, more precisely his discrete warning to simply watch his back when Sarah was concerned.

_What did he exactly mean by that?_

"Look, Jack if this is a bad time….." she started to explain while her legs sub consciously inched towards him. Almost like a magnetic pull and once she was within reach he instinctively leaned forward to grasp hold of her hands, wordlessly encouraging her to sit on the bed and once she did, he momentarily stilled to give his mind a mental refresh of her. The perfect roundness of her face and the wild covering of chocolate brown hair surrounding a majority of it's frame.

Her hazel green eyes almost shining like a beacon of captivation and attraction. He of course being the most willing pursuer and as a result he couldn't seem to decipher which physical element he loved the most about her.

He found himself wanting it all.

"God, she's more beautiful than my mind could have ever imagined or dreamed."

Her blushing smile under his scrutiny of amazement only made him melt even more, and he wanted nothing more than to physically act upon it at that moment, but he restrained himself from doing so in the end and opted to simply stroke the surface of the hand in a soothing manner. The effects of his touch evoking something equally meaningful from her. So much so that it rendered her speechless both mentally and verbally, but she was reminded of her reason once again when her eyes fell upon the destination of her developing future.

Their baby, and no matter what happened from this point onward she would always see this baby as that.

The question was would he share the same kind of faith and belief?

More importantly did he care enough about her to accept this and possibly be happy about it as well?

Here goes…

"Jack."

"Kate."

The both started at the same time and broke off with a shared moment of laughter. The moment thoroughly carefree but it soon died down, more on Kate's part when she realised the sheer seriousness of what she was about to reveal.

As if sensing her blatant worry, Jack gave her hand a reassuring squeeze while offering a matching look to strengthen his intent of encouragement.

"Jack, I …" she started out in a mentally rehearsed manner but was cut off for the millionth time today by the unexpected barging in of none other than….

"Tom!" Kate exclaimed in genuine surprise of suddenly seeing him and he the same with her, but his surprise was accommodated with that of fear, especially when his gaze centred on her and Jack's hands linked together rather intimately. The inclinations of the gesture not lost on him in the slightest and he automatically went on the defence as a result.

"Thank God Sarah notified me in time." He said to himself while continuing to observe the present scene.

"You two know each other?" Jack naturally questioned in confusion and obvious bewilderment, but Tom was relatively quick to answer that in a way he hoped would get the hint across.

"Oh yeah. Katie and I go way back, don't we?"

Kate simply nodded in agreement almost in sadness and regret when she then felt Jack release hold of her hand.

"Mind if I steal this lady away?" Tom proceeded to ask when nothing but silence fell upon his statement. His efforts exceeding his expectations or so he thought.

"Can it wait?" Kate grumblingly asked before attempting to devote her attention towards Jack once again, but Tom seemed fairly adamant in having a moment alone with her and much to her dismay Jack didn't even object.

So she begrudgingly got up and followed Tom out, leaving Jack confused and feeling truly distanced from a world he knew nothing about.

--------

"What are you doing here?" was the first thing he asked the moment they stepped outside.

"I have to tell him Tom. He has a right to know and….."

"Kate you can't."

"Why not?"

"Because he doesn't remember anything that happened before the accident." Tom simply explained and Kate grew confused to say the least. However as much as she was confused, she was equally devastated at hearing this news.

_This changes everything or does it?_

He knew my name….

* * *

**Dun Dun Dun lol. So will Tom use Jack's whole memory loss thing to his benefit or will he be the valiant, selfless guy and help Kate out with Jack?**

**Next Chapter: Kate makes a potentially life changing decision and more will be revealed concerning the Lauren/Caleb storyline. **

**So who's Sarah's Father? Any guesses guys?**

**I'm shooting for a weekend update, but if that's too soon then I can put it on hold. I've got most of this story planned out now and it's ready for the telling. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**I know I should be lynched for not posting and all but in my defence I was a little down with the treatment "Seeing her" received. Looks like it's hinted partnering (kinky) one shot "Round Three" may have to be put on indefinite hold or even stay off site seeing as it's predecessor didn't get the kind of recognition I thought and hoped it would. A big thank you though to the people who did take the time to let me know what they thought details and all lol. **

**A week has passed since the**** events of the last chapter……**

He knew he may have been jumping to conclusions in assuming what he was now, but the blatant signs within their body language that day were enough to make him assume nothing but the worst, and the fact that she had failed to visit him since then only strengthened his dreaded theory.

"Kate and Tom?"

A combination that didn't exactly bode well with him due to what he had been feeling over the past few days for the same woman. Her presence only worsening the ache he found himself feeling for her and her only.

"What the hell is happening to me?"

The closest answer to that question still came across as nothing but absurd because firstly he didn't know her that well enough to feel something of that magnitude and secondly he was already married to a woman he was supposed to be in love with and faithful to no matter what.

Though if the feeling was in fact mutual in this "marriage" then why was his Brother here instead of her?

Not that he was ungrateful or anything but he thought that his own wife should have at least bothered to be here.

"You ready to go?" a voice suddenly asked him upon arriving, breaking his current line of thought and wordlessly requesting that he stay in this one from now on. A world where nothing seemed to make sense, but maybe it would now that he was physically able enough to finally get out of this dreaded hospital bed and gain the freedom he so desperately wanted.

Today being that day and he wasted no time in following through with what he was longing to do for the past week. The incessant dreams weren't enough anymore.

"I need to see her."

-------------

"_It's for the best."_

"What did he exactly mean by that?" she wondered in all honesty of the statement. Though none of it mattered now because his statement was valid enough at the time for her to make a decision that still made her heart physically ache to this day, but at the same time she didn't want to be the cause for an unnecessary divorce.

No matter how much she truly disliked Sarah.

Still it didn't stop her from asking Tom about him virtually everyday. To the point where it would sometimes border on obsession, but of course Tom knew better.

"Kate?" she then heard her name being called for throughout the house she had being staying at for about a week or so. Still not getting used to this arrangement, but that certainly wasn't the case for Tom who seemed both jovial and equally suggestive of his intentions despite being turned down in a joking manner on more than one occasion.

With one last look in the mirror to wipe away any residue of emotion, she straightened herself up and then progressed on downstairs to greet the choice her better judgement had made.

"Hey."

"Hey." Kate replied with a smile to hide the real truth of what she was currently feeling, and though Tom picked up on it he decided to dismiss it for the time being and focus on something that wouldn't inevitably bring up the "J" word.

"I got Chinese and of course mushu chicken your favourite." He revealed in an effort to lighten the mood and the wordless smile of thanks he then received did it for him.

It still didn't for her cause what she truly craved for was unattainable in every sense of the word.

The rest of the evening had thankfully gone off smoothly, but with each minute that passed Kate grew increasingly anxious with the need to ask about the one person who now dominated her mind and concern. However having the courage to ask it was as good as admitting her feelings for one Jack Shepherd.

So she refrained from asking it at that exact moment and decided to give Tom at least some of her attention and time. Trying her hardest to not make it look like it was a forced chore.

"So, what did you do today?" Tom casually enquired while sorting through the Chinese takeout and Kate had to seriously think before she responded because the real answer was bound to dishearten.

"Not much. Just caught up on some TV and a word of advice, you need TiVo."

"Duly noted" He nodded in agreement and joined in with her laughter, thoroughly enjoying moments such as these and truly wondering if it could still escalate in the way he always hoped it would.

After spending a few more minutes simply making small talk Kate then decided to give her curiosity some precedence.

"Any change at the Hospital?" Kate discretely asked though Tom caught on anyway and was left with no choice but to frown and then fill her in on everything, including Jack's release from the Hospital today. Of which he too was happy about but he also knew what it meant for his chances seeing as Jack's memory only improved with each passing day.

All she had to say in light of it all was "Oh" but the blatancy of her expression was enough to give Tom the hint. So he wordlessly abandoned the food and the plans he originally had, excusing himself with a grumbled "I'm on call tonight" and leaving her next to no chance of possibly reassuring him otherwise.

To a certain extent what was there to really reassure him about other than the truth he still refused to share and accept.

"I'm falling for Jack Shepherd." And the existence of this baby within her was only making that feeling grow regardless of the ramifications.

------

"So what's on the agenda?" Caleb asked the fairly distant man beside him in the car.

"Jack? You okay man?" He added and Jack appeased him with a barely affirmative nod before focusing back on the passing suburban scenery. Sensing his reluctance to make conversation, Caleb simply focused on the road before him once again wondering just where Sarah was and what was keeping her.

One thing he surmised for sure was that it wasn't something but someone. What he saw by chance a few days ago was enough to confirm his suspicions of her infidelity. If it had been

She hadn't changed one damn bit.

A few minutes later and they were pulling up alongside the place Jack briefly pointed at before vacating the car and retrieving hold of the bag containing his belongings from the day of the crash. With that in hand he quickly trudged on towards the place he used to call a home and didn't even think to regard or worry himself with the fact that Sarah wasn't home.

The first thing he went to was a phone and before Caleb could think to ask he was already dialling.

-------

She still sat in the very same area thinking and almost willing with her mind to summon the one person she wanted at this precise moment. However the sudden ringing of the phone forced her to put those thoughts on hold.

"Hello." She humbly answered still obviously uncomfortable that she was answering someone else's phone.

"Kate?" the voice on the other end replied with confusion and obvious surprise in their tone but it was clear enough for a now speechless Kate to figure out who it was.

"Jack… uhh hey. How…..how are you?" she managed to brokenly get out in the midst of her shock.

_Sometimes wishes are granted._

He wanted to ask her the obvious but in the end settled with asking how she was and if Tom was there. Nothing but relief erupted when she said that he wasn't, and with a quick goodbye conveyed he got off the phone with her and rushed out, leaving Caleb unanswered and out of the loop once again.

It was a good thing that Tom only lived a few blocks away.

--------

The last thing she remembered was coming to talk to him about her Father's plans and here she was, naked and next to a man who was equally naked. An outcome she was half prepared for, but the part of her that did honestly love Jack vowed to show the man currently lying next to her that maybe this was wrong and selfish.

"Oh God." she whispered and immediately became alarmed by the light shining upon them clearly suggesting what time of day it was, more importantly the event she had missed in the midst of her careless pleasure. Without thinking she quickly sat up and scanned the room for her abandoned clothes, but what stopped her in the end was him.

"Mmmm mornin." Jim hummed in his sleep while burrowing further into the warmth of Sarah's bare side. His arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her nowhere but back down with him to bask in what he felt was right, but the same couldn't be said for Sarah.

"I have to go." She tried to explain but it failed to convey any sort of understanding with the man who was literally devouring her neck with kisses and the more she allowed it to progress, the more she became a willing victim to the pulsating effect each kiss left, especially when it ventured lower.

"Jim I…..I have to ahhhh."

"Stay." Was his only argument and lucky for him she didn't need much convincing from that point onward.

If she did then his lips would grant sure satisfaction and eliminate any form of doubt. Just like it had done for the past few months.

-------

The conversation was weird to say the least more towards the end but she tried not to dwell on it too much because it would only lead to more heartache. So she reverted to working on her apology for Tom when he did decide to come back home. However it was barely a minute later before she was graced with a light knocking on the front door.

Thinking it was none other than Tom, she showed no hesitance in her stride, but it all came to a standstill once she whipped open the door to come face to face with someone she never thought she'd see here. Though in a way it explained why he may have been so abrupt on the phone before.

"Jack? What are you…."

"Can we talk?"

She couldn't have said no, even if she wanted to.

* * *

**Now what could possibly ensue when you have Jack and Kate alone in an apartment lol. ****Keep in mind that Tom is going to be on call possibly all night.**

**Next Chapter: Kate may just give Jack something that will change everything. Caleb attempts to rekindle old ties and Jane finally makes her return. Plus Sarah bumps into the one person she doesn't want to see. **

**So what's the verdict guys? The greater the amount and the greater the chances of an update appearing as soon as Tuesday…. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**A day late but I hope the events of this chapter will make up for it. Thanks for the reviews guys. See I knew you were all hiding out there lol.**

It was almost like an invisible hand of fate pushed her aside to let him in, and she was glad it did because it issued her with something that had her already unstable hormones running into serious over drive.

To the point where it shocked even her, especially since he was still in a weakened state and all.

His eyes were focused on her the entire time and it wasn't until she made herself aware of his staring that he decided to reluctantly focus on something else.

"Good to see you up and walking again." Kate commented with a smile but it faded when the assumed effect of her statement failed to make any kind of impression on him. Instead all it did was strengthen the awkwardness between them.

"Yeah." He awkwardly replied feeling like the current distance between them was miles too far but what stopped him was the fear and uncertainty present within her demeanour.

"So….erm would you like something to drink or….." she started out while the gears in her mind worked on a way to perhaps reveal what she had been forced to hide all this time.

"Yeah, sure" Jack thankfully accepted with an affirmative nod of agreement and wordlessly followed her into the kitchen. Seating himself on one of the stools at the kitchen counter and eyeing her every action with amazement, as absurd as it sounded but to him it made perfect sense.

"Water or beer?" he found himself being asked and in an effort to not take his mind of a steady path of thought, he opted for water.

Meanwhile Kate was both appalled and embarrassed at the fact that, that was all Tom had in his fridge, aside from a half empty carton of foul smelling milk.

"Here."

"Thanks." He said and tried to make nothing of the shiver that struck him the moment his fingers accidentally made contact with the surface of her hand as she placed the glass down on the counter in front of him.

"So….what brings you here to this neck of the woods?" Kate started out in a light hearted manner knowing very well why he was here, but both were still unwilling enough to get straight to the point and admit what they were trying to avoid.

Who would go first this time?

----------

He tried not to dwell too much on what had happened but he still found himself wanting to punch the first person he saw. Though that all changed when he then caught sight of someone he never thought he'd see, especially after what he was told happened.

"Jane? What are you doing here?"

A part of him still disliked her for the heartless decision she had made concerning Kate, but the look of loneliness and what he assumed was regret possessing her gaze won him over considerably.

"What, can't an old friend pop up every now and again?" she joked but decided to veer from humour judging by the look of annoyance gracing his features.

Annoyance resulting from something she had a distinct inkling of.

Still she chose to play dumb over the issue and focused more on the reason she was here. She just hoped that he too hadn't suffered the extent of the pain she did at the expense of a woman she used to regard as one of her best friends.

"So I know this is probably out of the blue and all but you got any plans for lunch?"

Thinking over such a proposal didn't take as long as he thought because even though he wanted to say "No" and storm off, another part still saw no harm in having something as innocent as a friendly lunch date. To be honest it would be a refreshing change and might take his mind off Kate related things for a while.

"I guess I do now." Tom relented, evoking a smile of satisfaction for being given a chance.

What could hurt in simply catching up with an old friend? Maybe it's what he needed now but the same couldn't be said for Jane who was hell bent on making Tom see the truth she now saw when it came to Kate. She wanted her to suffer the way she still was.

However the one thing she didn't estimate was his feelings for the brunette, and the sheer extent of it.

---------

"How's Tom?"

"He's…..he's fine." Kate stuttered to answer because it was far from the truth, but at the same time making any of this disruption known to Jack would only rouse unnecessary complications.

Besides she still wasn't exactly sure how great the current status of his memory was. She was admittedly devastated when Tom filled her in on the one unfortunate injury Jack endured as a result of the accident, but throughout that time she consoled herself in the knowledge that he still knew her name.

It was only a matter of time before the rest would surface. She also considered the fact that telling him about this baby might bring a sense of clarity, more for her conscience because it was all starting to weigh heavy on her and she wasn't sure how long she could take not telling him.

He was a Father for crying out loud. Why shouldn't he be happy about that?

"Penny for your thoughts?" Jack offered in an attempt to firstly kill the silence and second to casually find out exactly what was blatantly troubling her at the moment.

"Was it me?" he thought for a split second in fear of it possibly being true, but it was eased considerably with the heart melting smile he received in recognition of his concern.

"Yeah, yeah I'm just…."

"Kate." He added in a tone of comfort and reassurance while daring to reach for her hand in a gesture that could have been considered as friendly, but it sure as hell wasn't his intention. Just being in front of her right now was seriously putting him into a state where he couldn't put into words, but certainly could physically.

"Jack, I….." she tried starting out but it seemed like her mind and mouth were two completely different people now. The end result leaving her speechless and more emotional than she wanted to be, but it still didn't stop her from going ahead with something she had never been so afraid of revealing.

It was either a make or break and she hoped that the latter wouldn't be her fate.

Sensing her unease Jack took it upon himself to lean towards showing "friendly" comfort instead of fulfilling his curiosity to simply know.

"Hey, hey it's okay. Whatever it is you don't have to talk about it." He vowed to assure her while taking hold of her hand, yet it seemed that his assurance egged on her determination to just come out with it.

No matter what happened from this point onward it wouldn't change how she felt and she hoped the same went for him.

"I'm pregnant."

-------

Assuming that Jack wouldn't be returning any time soon, he decided to let himself out, thinking to leave a quick note, but refrained from doing so in the end because odds are it was bound to be ripped up and binned once Sarah caught sight of it.

Her presence was surely one he didn't want to be graced with in any manner. So with that in mind he bolted out of the house and headed straight for his car. Once in there his phone started going off displaying a withheld number. Showing next to no hesitance, he answered on the third ring and was welcomed with a very panicked…..

"Lauren? Lauren wait, just slow down and tell me what's going on?"

The answer to that question had him saying a simple "I'll be right there" and then stepping on the accelerator with a screech. His mind half contemplating turning the siren on to his car, but he figured that he'd achieve the same outcome if he chose to abide by the law and it's regulations.

Still it failed to ease the worry that naturally crept into his heart, especially when she mentioned the name of someone he strongly assumed he shared a connection with and to this day believed that, that may have been the reason she left him in the first place. Regardless of the convincing lies his Mother had filled his head with at the time.

He knew it was a long shot, but he was willing to put his heart on the line and perhaps use this opportunity to answer just one of the questions that had plagued his mind ever since he casually checked up on her and found out that a lot had happened in her life.

Finding out about Calum of course sparked his curiosity and in doing the math it led him to question the distinct line between coincidence and fate.

"Is he my son?"

However whether he was or not wasn't the issue at the moment. It was something a lot more serious.

He could feel it.

------

The first thing he was hit with was the flash of a pregnancy test and then Sarah's tear streaked face. Granted the images were fairly random but he sensed an obvious significance between the two. Though he couldn't make sense of what the third image showed, him walking out the door but not before warning Sarah to stay away from him. If it was what he thought it was then why was he so angry and cold towards her?

"Jack?" Kate asked, her voice etched with worry and the impending silence failed to ease it in any way whatsoever.

So she tried again, this time relying on the hope that some form of physical contact would snap him out of this almost catatonic state. Unfortunately her expectations withered much like the warmth that left her hand the moment he became coherent to her and reality.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm…..so you're pregnant." Was all he could say in light of this news. Yes, the right thing was to be happy for her, but where would that leave him and his hopes.

"Jack it's……"

"I bet Tom's excited about becoming a Dad and all." He chipped in naturally assuming the obvious while trying to currently distance himself from her as much as possible. Hoping that it would vanquish the pain but all it did was worsen it.

"Tom? Dad? What the hell is he on about?" were the things that stuck out the most, only because they came across as nothing but ridiculous, but come to think of it what else could he assume seeing as she was living with the man he had self labelled as the father of her baby.

_Oh God._

"Well I guess congratulations are in order then." He tried while masking his best attempt at a supportive smile, but it failed miserably and all he felt he could do then was leave seeing as there was nothing here to salvage or rekindle anymore.

"That was Tom's job now." He bitterly reminded himself and then made the move to leave, giving Kate the chance to then do something that shocked not only him but her as well.

She kissed him.

* * *

**So she told him but what will happen now? **

**Next Chapter: The kiss aftermath and an update on Calum seeing as this chapter hinted at something serious. **

**Seeing as the next instalment ****has some pretty crucial stuff, jate wise specifically lol, I thought I would shoot for an early weekend update, but it all depends on how this chapter fairs…..**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**Well what a coinky dink a jiss in Dilemma happening around the same time as a specific jaw dropping event in episode 4 "The Little Prince" lol. Anyhoo here's the new update guys and as always thanks so much for the reviews :)**

No logical thought figured other than the desire to have more. So in the end he opted for spontaneity within that split second of realisation that this was actually happening and fiercely reciprocated the grip she now had on him. The outcome of the change crushing her even more into his strong body, and if she hadn't decided to break away from him at that moment then he was sure that they would have gone all the way.

He still wanted to.

"Kate" he moaned in please and submission of the feelings he could no longer keep hidden away. Even if she was unfortunately having the baby of another man.

"_In this moment she's mine."_

"Jack, I….we can't oooooh." Kate half attempted to reason but her forwardness had already unleashed a pent up need and savouring it seemed to be the only option for her over riding hormones, but the same didn't unfortunately go for her better judgement. Which resulted in her extracting herself from his insatiable lips and the warmth of his embrace which made the temptation to give in that much harder, but he needed to know first.

However before she could make the move to speak, Jack suddenly cut her off with a babbling apology for his insensitive behaviour towards the rather tedious situation. Of which she smiled warmly at before getting lost in those decadent hazel, brown eyes. A mesmerising feature she prayed their baby would inherit.

As much as she would have loved nothing more than to re engage with him, consideration had to also be devoted towards his marriage. A marriage that seemed to be on a progressive path judging by what she had seen when she last visited him. Though she couldn't help but wonder whether the whole thing was an act, solely on Sarah's part to blatantly show her that Jack was hers. Which in all fairness was legally true and something she should respect, but yet again where would that leave her and their unborn child.

She didn't want this child to grow up the way she did. Longing to know her real Father and wondering just why he left in the first place. The end result of that leading to self blame, especially when her Mother simply told her that they both wanted different things at the time.

Granted the conception of this child wasn't exactly planned or expected, but she knew for a fact that Jack would care enough to accept it and perhaps propose something more than a simple arrangement, but she still braced herself for the worst.

"Jack, this baby it's…."

"It's okay Kate. You don't have to explain it, least of all to me…" He spoke up mumbling the last part with a sarcastic snicker to himself, but the pin drop silence within the room was enough to make it notable her ears and evoke nothing but anger as a result. Though she failed to act on it because the last thing she wanted was an argument that would in effect delay the inevitable.

_Here goes._

"Yes I do Jack."

"No, you don't." he replied resorting to a fairly harsh tone in an effort to put this all to rest once and for all, but if anything it only made her that much more adamant in return. However he wasn't about to stick around and have this thrown in his face, so he made his way towards the front door, his heart aching over the memory of what could have been and what made it hurt that much more was the knowledge that, that's all they could ever be, a memory.

"Jack, please just let me explain." Kate still vowed to try through her tears while following him closely and she nearly lost her balance the next moment when he suddenly whipped around to face her with an expression that both frightened and weirdly turned her on at the same time.

"Explain what Kate?! Of how you and Tom are so right for each other or the fact that you didn't care enough to spare me the heartache once you figured I'd remember." He breathed out in forceful manner while Kate shamefully bowed her head the entire time. However what then caught both her shock and interest was his mention of the word "heartache".

The suggestion of the word giving her the answer she may have been looking for to finally come clean and not think of the ramifications (if there were any now).

"Yeah, I remember everything well enough to get so damn caught up in it that I forgot about my own wife so….." he chose to continue on spilling his heart out in an effort to make her see how invested he was in this, in them and Kate felt it was time to issue him with the ultimate reward.

"It's yours." Was all she said and he couldn't help but knit his eyebrows in confusion over the randomness of such a statement.

"This baby, it's….it's yours, "OURS" Kate added with a confirmative smile and this time it was his turn to play the shocked – feeling- like- he'd- been- hit- with– a- tonne- of- bricks person.

A thousand questions loomed through his head though culminating in the form of what he believed was a suitable reply in light of such news.

"What? How?"

"Do you want me to draw a rough diagram or…." she joked attempting to lighten the mood but apparently he was in no mood to do so. So she reverted to a serious persona once again with a muttered "sorry" to convey and then waited for the accusations to commence.

Whatever it was she had prepared herself enough times already to handle it for real, but what did happen the next minute was something surely saved for her wildest dreams.

He kissed her, and this time he sure as hell wasn't letting go.

--------

A half hour and a speed ticket later and he was screeching up into the nearest parking space. Unconcerned of anything else other than getting to him before it was too late.

Thankfully it didn't take long judging by the fact that Lauren had been waiting for him the entire time and once she caught sight of him, she led him straight to the scene of his terror.

He looked so pale and the sight of his little body being probed with all these different tubes affected him more than he would have liked, but if his assumptions were right and this was his son then the constricting pain currently felt was completely natural. Honestly he didn't care whether he was or wasn't.

"What happened?" he naturally asked Lauren as they were made to wait outside Calum's room. Though they understood why when they observed the sheer seriousness of the boy's condition through the glass window of his room.

"He was fine." Lauren mouthed to herself almost in disbelief of saying it and with that she started to succumb to the early stages of catatonia, but the man beside snapped her out of it in time by roughly grabbing hold of her shoulders and willing her to face him.

"Lauren, just tell me what happened."

"He hit him and I just laid there and let it happen." She revealed and he was both confused and angry but leaned more towards the latter at the fact that someone had hurt Calum. He had experienced enough of that abuse in his life to not have any tolerance for it.

"Who hit him? What the hell is going on?"

"Caleb I……" she started out knowing that there was no denying it anymore regardless of the trouble she'd probably get into for covering for Jim in the first place. Much to her dismay the conversation was brought to an abrupt halt by the re- appearance of Calum's Doctor.

"Hello…"

"Mr. Stevenson, Caleb Stevenson." He took the initiative to introduce himself and eliminate the Doctor's hesitance to discuss Calum in front of him.

"Is he okay?" Lauren chipped in giving the wordless okay for Caleb to be present and with that the Doctor proceeded to affirm them of Calum's current condition.

"What possible complications?" Lauren stressed with nothing but fear in her heart naturally assuming the worst and considering the obvious of which she would never forgive herself for.

"Has Calum suffered any incessant headaches in the past few months?"

"Well they're not "incessant" but he does get the odd headache every now and again." Lauren explained trying to keep the annoyance out of her tone but she really was at her wits end in terms of her patience.

"Is something wrong?" Caleb cut in sensing Lauren's agitation and the response they got filled their hearts with nothing but fear. Lauren more than Caleb but he was fairly close to losing it as well.

"Possible signs of brain damage."

They just hoped that it wasn't as serious as it sounded. The one form of consolation they did have was the odds tipping slightly in their favour.

Still it failed to lessen the worry and self blame Lauren had for no one but herself. Whereas Caleb tried to wonder how it came to this.

More importantly who made it come to this?

----------

"So how have you been?"

"The usual." Tom answered feeling like this was a game of twenty questions but he ditched the absurd notion in the end and allowed himself to get caught up on her life. Not making a point to stress on the fact that Kate hadn't made it into the conversation.

"How's Kate?"

_Yet_

For some reason he felt like lying judging by the creepy way she had asked it, but he chose honesty in the end yet strived to leave out the details of her current whereabouts.

Thankfully she took the hint and dropped it, but still tried to get something out of him.

Much to his relief the programmed beeping of his watch then gave him an excuse to bolt, but not before being pecked on the cheek by Jane followed by a lingering look that slightly crossed the barrier of friendship.

"I gotta get out of here." He firmly affirmed himself creeping out by the minute in light of a person he felt like he didn't even recognize now.

"I'll see you soon." She flirtingly offered with a raise of the eyebrows while tucking the napkin with her scribbled phone number in his trouser pocket.

He certainly hoped not as she walked away from him, offering a tantalising sway of her hips on the way out.

--------

"_Sarah, what's happened?"_

_

* * *

_ "_You're….you're pregnant?"_

_

* * *

_ "_Don't. Just don't."_

* * *

They were the three lines that stuck out to him the most and as much this revelation shocked him it obviously didn't end well, and besides it bore no comparison to what Kate had just told him.

"So it's mine?" he felt the need to check just in case he had heard her correctly before swallowing her up in a kiss that rendered her both speechless and breathless.

"Yes it is "Daddy" she replied thoroughly enjoying the smile that lit his face at mentioning the new yet equally heart warming referral.

"Why didn't you tell me all this time?" he naturally asked and she sighed to herself knowing that this wasn't going to be easy, but she had already crossed the major hurdle in telling him.

The rest would fall into place. So why was a part of her still afraid that it might not?

That maybe this was all too good to be true.

* * *

**So will things fall into place now that Jack knows or will some sort of complication arise?**

**Next Chapter: Tom makes a life changing decision and so does Jack. More on the Lauren/ Caleb storyline as well.**

**The next chapter is kind of big cause it's the turning point of this fic…..**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**Thanks for the reviews and sorry for the delay guys.**

_He felt the warmth of the sunlight hit the surface of his bare body but refused to move or disengage himself from the woman currently laying in his arms._

_They had been seeing each other on and off for the past 4 months, but as the days progressed so did the relationship they had constantly flirted around. That all changed with what unexpectedly happened last night._

_He saw her in a completely different light now. One that was admittedly foreign to him in the sense of how serious things had gotten now. However like always all logic and reason went out the window when his eyes set upon her once dormant form._

_"Morning." He greeted her with a smile and a kiss she melted into with a moan of his name, but before he could respond in a continuation of last night's events, she suddenly pulled away with a wide eyed expression and a muttered "crap, I'm late" when her eyes set upon the alarm clock on his bedside table._

_"Mmmm, Caleb I have to go. I have a job interview today." She reminded him but was sorely defeated by how responsive her body was to his sultry ministrations._

_"Don't worry babe, I'll drive you in." he offered while playfully nipping the length of her willingly arching neck._

_"I need you Lauren." He urged and no further encouragement was needed because there was clearly no reason for it. She wanted this just as much as he did._

_----------_

_A year had passed now and she was still the only thing he could think and incessantly dream about._

_As much as his growing obsession with her bothered others around him, his Mother to be precise; it didn't falter his self proposed mission to find her._

_However what he didn't expect to then find was the reason she had left so suddenly in the first place. The news naturally shocking him to the point of fear, but the more he thought about it and the more he felt that maybe it was okay to accept this._

_"I have a son. I'm a Father."_

_It came as no surprise to him that his Mother was blatantly displeased with the news, especially when she didn't have to guess who the Mother of her newfound grandson was. She had more or less disowned him from that point onward for being "so utterly reckless and foolish" as she so put it right before she slammed the front door in his face._

_In his eyes this was the next chapter of his life. One he wasn't about to cower away from or avoid just because of what people might think, or what she might for that matter. He was confident enough to believe in the fact that she still loved him just as much as he did her, maybe even more and if that was mutually affirmed then the rest would undoubtedly fall into place._

_Though that all came to a standstill when he found that he accidentally bypassed the small print of this seemingly perfect revelation._

_She was seeing someone and judging by what he was told by his contacts it appeared to be pretty serious as well._

_Or so he thought._

_"Jim Valenti."_

_It was a name he never thought he would associate so much hate with. Beyond the kind that rooted solely from jealousy._

_Still, knowledge of this discouraging news didn't stop him or his proposed plans cause as far as he was concerned Lauren and Calum were still his family. This Jim guy was simply a way to delay the inevitable._

(End of Flashback)

"How long?"

"Excuse me." She replied, perfectly aware of his implication but unwilling to go there because it would only make matters worse.

"Don't play dumb with me Lauren and stop trying to cover for the bastard." His tone was harsh to the point where it wasn't to be trifled and Lauren more than anyone knew that.

"How did you….."

"I'm a Cop. Besides it doesn't take a lot to put the pieces together."

"It……it was an accident. We were fighting and……" she humbly tried to explain but it failed to make any kind of impression on the completely changed man before her.

"And Calum just happened to get caught in the crossfire of this "accident" right?

"Yes." she shamefully admitted in a whisper, still failing to gain the least bit of sympathy from Caleb.

"Nice. So these accidents happen a lot then?"

"What…No….I, I mean he…."

"Whatever. What you do with your life is your business, but I can assure you that things are gonna change as far as Calum's concerned." He firmly warned her before heading towards Calum's room, but on the way he was stopped by a question he was no longer afraid of answering.

"Why do you care all of a sudden?"

"I care because he's family. **MY** family." He added with a pointed glare to clearly convey how he felt about being kept in the dark all this time.

"Oh God." Was all she could say through the shock of him figuring it out. Now all she could do was live with the consequences of her actions, knowing that it could possibly result in her losing Calum forever.

------------

"So what happens now?"

The question was bound to be asked sooner or later and Kate took it upon herself to be the one asking it.

"I don't know." He honestly answered, still getting used to the fact that he was going to be a Father, and also feeling the slightest amount of guilt that it was happening with a woman who wasn't his wife. Despite the distant way Sarah had been with him of late, he wasn't going to use that as an excuse to condemn and dismiss her, especially after the last memory flash he had of Sarah finding out she was pregnant herself.

Whether she wanted to or not he would have to talk to Sarah about it.

"Jack?" she questioned with a wary expression, bracing herself for the possibility that she might be raising this baby by herself. Granted it wasn't the preferred option but she was prepared to make that sacrifice for the baby she was already growing to love.

"Are you really okay with this? I mean I know it's a lot to take on and……"

"I wanna be there for you and the baby Kate, I do but……" he started out and broke off, trying to find a way to properly word his argument without giving her the wrong impression. Unlucky for him however the sight of the wedding band still on his finger gave Kate the blatant reason for his "but".

"Oh." She simply spoke in light of what she was seeing and once Jack's sense of realisation caught up with hers, he immediately made it a point of business to try and assure her that it wasn't she thought it obviously looked like.

"Kate, it's…."

"It's okay Jack you don't have to explain."

"Yes I do Kate." He still tried to get through, firmly grasping hold of her shoulders and having them roughly shook off with what he guessed was anger for leading her on.

"NO, you don't!!" she firmly reminded him with the slightest tremble in her tone, but she focused enough on her better judgement and continued, "you don't because there's nothing between us now other than this baby. A baby I'm perfectly capable of raising on my own."

He wanted to cry at that precise moment. Knowing how wrong she was and desperately wanting to tell her that, but there were other obstacles to consider now. The most pressing one of all being this new pregnancy situation with Sarah.

However in fulfilling his curiosity he knew he would be risking the chance with Kate he had been contemplating up until his latest memory flash.

_Who_ _ would he choose?_

"Is that what you want?"

"It doesn't matter anymore Jack."

"Katie!! Where are you?" they suddenly both heard Tom shout and within minutes were graced with his presence, putting an end to any further discussion.

"Jack?! Hey man….you're…."

"Leaving." Kate filled Tom in while giving Jack a pointed look to follow through with the discrete instruction. As much as it pained her to be so harsh with him, she felt it was needed in an effort to push him in the right direction. She wouldn't allow her feelings to destroy a marriage he was still apparently committed to investing in.

Seeing that there was no convincing her, especially with Tom around he wordlessly agreed and proceeded to walk away, for now. Completely ignoring Tom on the way out and not caring what the man thought of him because he was too emotionally conflicted to care.

"What was that about?"

"Huh? Oh it was nothing. He just came by to say hi and…."

"You told him." Tom guessed and was proved right by her distinct lack of a reply, and upon further observation he could see why. Without hesitance he pulled her sobbing form into his arms, lulling her with words of comfort and assurance, but the one thing she truly needed was still unattainable.

"I don't think I can do this alone, I…."

"Hey, hey look at me." He firmly urged for her attention and got it somewhat through her continual breakdown.

"I meant what I said before. You're not in this alone." He vowed to get his point across, longing to simply tell her how much he did care for her and how prepared he was to also deal with anything that came along the way, including this baby.

"I'll always be here for you Katie. You and this baby." He added and was pleasantly relieved to see the hint of a grateful smile adorning her tear streaked face. With that he pulled her into his embrace again, feeling fairly confident that it was simply a matter of time before his feelings would finally be requited. Along with the other question he had been longing to ask, especially since he purchased the perfect ring a few hours earlier.

---------

He begrudgingly strolled into the still empty house he shared with Sarah. Relieved that it was because it would give him some time to properly think things through, but barely had a moment to himself before he was graced with the sight of his wife cheerfully strolling in through the front door with a man he had never seen before. Though it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who this guy was and what he was here for.

"Jack? What are you…." Sarah stumbled to get out, not really knowing what to do other than play the shame filled victim.

"Hello Sarah. Nice to see you're making new friends."

* * *

**Now what could possibly ensue from this lol. ** **The next instalment will be set a month or so ahead in the future and of course things change along with time, but some don't……**

**Next Chapter: ?**

**I'm hoping to get the next update done and up sometime this week but I can be persuaded to quicken the process if you guys really want it. **


	20. Note

**What may be an unfortunate farewell**

I've probably been fairly discrete about this in the last few pieces I've put up and judging by the fairly similar way they've all faired, including the new "Dilemma" update, I've come to the conclusion that maybe it's time for me to bow out and either gain a real sense of focus with the direction I take my writing in, or simply stay away from it altogether.

Either way it's not achieving the kind of interest I would like it to, so I've decided to end it all here now. I know you guys may think that I'm simply over reacting and all, especially in putting up this note, but I can no longer suppress the disappointment I feel when I check my stats and see that not many people are reading or acknowledging the stuff I post anymore.

Anyway I don't want to start unnecessarily pointing the finger of blame, cause if it's anyone's fault it's mine for not delivering what my writing used to in the past.

I want to also take this time to thank everyone who's been there for me and my work at one time or another. I don't wanna state names because you know who you are and how thankful I am. If not then the incessant PM's and review replies should suggest that lol.

So thanks once again guys and I wish you all the best.

Regards

Russ (AKA Hellmouth22)


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**First off I want to convey a big thank you to everyone who responded and respected my wishes** **to take a break from writing at the time, but that was then and this is now. I'm back and refreshed....**

* * *

He reluctantly woke to the sight of a new day, quickly readying himself in an effort to escape to the one thing that thankfully hadn't changed over the past month, his job.

There were a lot of things he still couldn't understand and didn't want to because it would only resurface the pain he no longer had the strength to overcome. Despite his numerous efforts to be something more to her than a Father to their baby, she continuously struck him down by reminding him that he had to consider what he now felt was simply a rite of obligation.

Though the real reason became painfully blatant to him a few days later when Tom so proudly revealed it in the form of the words "I'm getting married". He didn't even have to guess who the new Mr's Brennan was going to be, and as much as felt like stamping his feet like a little child for losing the life and woman he so desperately wanted, he knew that it wouldn't make a lick of difference. Not as long as he was still married to Sarah and the baby he later found out he was having with her too.

The doubt was obviously there at first and he had every right to be, what with this Jim guy and all, but Sarah continued to firmly convince him that it was his child and not Jim's. Much to his dismay he couldn't even get a test to prove it because she was still in the early stages of her pregnancy. What also didn't help his case to prove her wrong was what he unexpectedly gave into in the midst of the heartache in finding out about Kate and Tom.

The events of that night stabbing his heart with nothing but guilt, and as much he knew that it shouldn't, being that Sarah was his wife, he still felt ashamed for giving into what he could only interpret as a moment to simply forget. He never would now that there was a living reminder of that night.

However it still didn't defeat the plausible possibility that this baby may still be Jim's.

So all he could do now was wait and pretend to be the concerned husband when in reality all he wanted was to be with Kate and their baby. As cruel and insensitive as he thought that sounded what Sarah did to him was far worse and still hard to forgive, but in her defence she was trying to make amends, despite learning about the physical entanglement he shared with Kate.

Still he would never forget that day.

(Flashback – A month ago)

"_Nice to see you're making _ _new friends."_

"_Jack, I……"_

"_So should I be stupid enough to assume that this guy is nothing more than a friend to you or has he in fact been my replacement for God knows how long." He spat out more so at the guy rather than Sarah who looked close to passing out at the notion of being caught out._

"_Look_ _, man I know what it must look like but….."_

"_Get out." Was Jack's simple reply and chose to dismiss any further argument over the situation, but Jim clearly hadn't gotten the message. _

"_Assume all you want Jack, but this woman's been worried sick over you." _

"_I'm sure she was and I'm sure you did what you could to make the pain go away right?" _

"_Jack, please just give me a chance to explain……"_

"_Explain what exactly?"_

"_That no matter what you think of me or what I've done, you're still the man I love." She confessed with the utmost emotion in her tone, but Jack couldn't tell whether it was fake or genuine though the latter eventually won due to the fact that on some level he too felt the same way for this woman. Still it didn't dismiss the uncertainty he had at the possibility that this was all a trick._

_Although the real question was whether he was _ _credible enough to question her infidelity when he had done pretty much the same thing himself._

(End of flashback)

"Mmmmm." The woman beside him grunted into her pillow while attempting to cuddle into what she thought was the warmth of her husband beside her. Instead all she got was a mouthful of pillow and it naturally woke her as a result.

"You okay?" the groggy blonde asked while allowing her hand to lightly graze along the length of Jack's back. Her touch evoking more a chill of discomfort but he failed to make that known out of the politeness of his heart.

The only way he could answer that question now was by lying and putting on a smile to convince her, but as the days continued to progress with no change in regard to what his heart continued to yearn for, he grew more easily agitated yet still tried to make an effort to reduce the stress he knew would unnecessarily harm the welfare of the baby.

"Yeah….yeah I'm fine. I'm just late for work is all." He explained before he more or less darted off towards the bathroom, giving Sarah next to no chance for an argument.

Thankfully she refrained from doing so once he resurfaced from the bathroom and with nothing but a kiss on the cheek offered he was off. Her frowning at the fact that, that's all she had continued to get over the past month following their reconciliation.

A reconciliation she felt had more to do with the baby growing inside her.

---------

Despite being offered an extended vacation to basically get his life in order, he was returning four weeks early and more than eager to resume with his duties. However once he did arrive, his welcome was put on hold when he walked in on a patient being wheeled in. A patient he had met on unfortunate terms, but still wouldn't have wished what he was seeing now.

What finally willed him to get involved was then seeing none other than his own Brother rushing alongside the gurney, bloodied in appearance.

"What happened Cal?" Jack asked while rolling up his sleeves and then looking over Jim's current condition. The profusely bleeding gunshot wound immensely worrying the Doctor in him. Though what worried him a tad more was the sheer amount of shock heavily possessing Caleb's demeanour. He could honestly say that he had never seen his brother so terrified.

"He…..he got shot." Was all Caleb offered through the shock of it all and seeing that it was all he was probably going to get out of him Jack dropped any further interrogation and focused on the patient at hand. Ditching his emotions out the window and allowing for the Doctor in him to take over.

-------

It was Saturday today and as much as it discouraged her that it didn't make a difference to Jack's work schedule, she decided to cheer herself up and go out baby shopping.

She barely got out the front door before her phone started going off. The minute she saw the caller display, her face broke into a smile and with next to no hesitance she answered, hoping he would be suggesting something along the lines of spending time with her.

"Hey, I was just……"

"Sarah, I need you to……" he started and broke off, always hating this part of the job but knowing that it had to be done. He knew what Jim still meant to her and it was only fair that she knew.

"Can you come down to the Hospital?"

"Actually I was going out to do some baby shopping and I was wondering if you…"

"I can't."

"Look, Jack I know that things between us haven't been the same since Jim, but I'm trying here and….."

"Sarah I don't have time for this."

"Why?"

"Because something's happened"

"What? What could possibly be more important than….."

"It's Jim." He revealed and wasn't surprised in the least by her exhale of breath followed by her saying that she'd be there.

"There was nothing you could have done." Was all he was assured in an effort to eliminate the disappointment he naturally felt after loosing a patient.

---------

Several possibilities loomed through her mind. Each one undoubtedly leading to the same worrying conclusion and if anymore time was spent dwelling on it all, she knew it could end up potentially harming her and the baby.

So she maintained a calm attitude and made her way to the Hospital. Sensing that she would know if anything drastic happened to Jim, the man she still loved and would secretly continue to do so through this baby.

To be continued……

* * *

**Next Chapter: How is Kate coping with everything and more will be revealed concerning Jim's accident.**

_Review?_


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**First off thanks for the reviews guys and finally here's an update.**

* * *

No matter how long she looked at the ring on her finger, it failed to register nothing but a sense of obligation, mainly towards her unborn baby's welfare. Not to say that she wasn't grateful of what Tom had done for her and was willing to continue through this "arrangement" as she saw it, but her heart still wanted Jack.

"He's not yours to have." she was forced to remind herself of the heart stabbing truth and with that she reverted to the depression her life had become. Subjected to do nothing but continuously pine over a life she could only ever dream about now.

All she could do was put on a smile and pretend to be the happy Mrs. Brennan to be.

"You're doing this for the baby."

(Meanwhile)

Caleb knew the truth and in any other situation would treat it with a simple arrest along with a charge of 1st degree attempted man slaughter, but this time it was different.

"It's Lauren."

He still had a hard time grasping at the fact that she was capable of doing such a thing, though at the same time he condoned with her reasons for trying to end the life of a man who did nothing but abuse both her and Calum.

Yet the real question was would the authorities see it his way?

As if on cue to either greaten or worsen the odds of Lauren facing jail, Jack suddenly stepped out of the room Jim was taken into earlier. The look on Jack's face was undecipherable at first, due to the fact that he still had his surgical mask on, but once it was removed, no further guesses were needed as to what Jack would say next.

"We were too late."

Instead of feeling sorrow and remorse for the man who just died all Caleb could think about was Lauren and what would happen to her now.

-------

"Morning Mrs. Shepherd, how can I help you?" the receptionist inquired of the immensely perturbed and out of breath woman.

"I'm here to see a Jim Valenti. I was told that he was brought in……"

Sarah hurriedly started out but was cut off by the receptionist's phone ringing, "Excuse me just one moment….."

"No!!" Sarah insisted, making her intentions clear when she ripped the phone out of the receptionist's hand, "tell me where he is now!!"

"Mrs. Shepherd please calm down….." the woman tried to reason but it seemed that Sarah was past the point of caring to do anything but fuel her agitation.

"You listen here and you listen good "Kathy"……." She spat out in a venomous manner, showing no room to be reasoned or argued with, "this person means a lot to me and if something's wrong with them then I have a right to know. So why don't you….."

"Sarah?" a voice suddenly chipped into her heated argument. The receptionist and a majority of the people in the waiting area thankful that the outburst had seized before it could worsen.

"Jack!! Where is he? What happened?" Sarah immediately started questioning, hoping that it wasn't serious or worse fatal. The very consideration of the word was enough to make her heart thump harder with fear.

There was simply no easy way to come at this and as much as he loathed Jim, death was something he would never wish upon anyone.

His prolonged silence was in no way a comfort so her refusal to comply with his suggestion of discussion in privacy came as no surprise.

"What happened to him Jack?" she waveringly demanded through her gathering tears that intensified to a sobbed "No" when all Jack did was relent with an implicative apology.

In all honesty he didn't know what to do, especially in light of her reaction towards Jim's death. However for the time being he chose to put his issues aside and be the comforting husband, but much to his surprise she suddenly backed away almost as if he were a disease.

"I wanna see him." was her monotonous request and with a sigh he gave in with an affirmative nod and urged her to then follow him.

Upon arrival she caught sight of none other than Caleb vacating Jim's room.

"What's he doing here?" she naturally asked, a mix of bitterness and pain in her voice, and sharing a brief look with his brother, Jack then volunteered to inform her of what he knew.

"But who…..who would do something like that?" came the obvious question from Sarah and Caleb grew jittery in regards to it. Not wanting to make his discomfort blatantly obvious he excused himself saying that he was needed back at the Precinct.

With him gone Jack moved to escort Sarah into Jim's room, but for the second time today refused the comfort he was offering by saying that she wanted to be alone with Jim.

Saying that he didn't feel like a fool at that moment would be a lie and in an effort to not inflict any further embarrassment upon himself, he allowed her, her privacy.

-------

Seeing him like this was a lot more than she could have predicted when she was initially told.

For a split second she felt like running away from it all, but at the same time how long could she go on living a lie.

"If only I'd tried a little harder to convince him that night then none of this would have happened."

(A month and a half ago)

_"I'm pregnant." She finally let it slip out and as expected his reaction was nothing short of worried for the obvious reason._

_"What're you talkin about?" he still questioned in his usual Southern twang to simply get past the shock of what he'd just heard._

_"We're having a baby."_

_"Damnit." He loudly cut her off, his worry now replaced with anger in regards to their share of carelessness, but his negligence was partially due to his present status with the law after the incident with Calum._

_Sarah on the other hand though hurt by his reaction was more curious as to his reasons for it._

_Over the duration of an affair that unexpectedly developed into something more, there had always been discussions about the future and much to her surprise Jim was always the one to bring up the subject._

_So what caused the sudden change of heart?_

_"Jim? I thought you'd be….."_

_"Have you told him?" Jim cut in yet again, a plan assumedly in mind in relation to his question._

_"What?" Sarah replied still distracted by how weirdly he was behaving in regards to the future she thought he wanted with her._

_"Jack. Have you told him that it's mine?" he questioned, more persistent this time and all she did was bow her head in shame. Allowing for the tears to finally fall, but she soon composed herself when he failed to even comfort her._

_"I haven't even told him that I'm pregnant." She stated clearly agitated at his misplacement of concern and consideration._

_"Well ya have to tell him." Jim explained and naturally Sarah sought to question and then argue over the subject of his weird behaviour._

_The argument only worsening when Jim shockingly suggested that she label Jack as the Father of the baby._

_"Why are you being like this Jim?" she urged with desperation, giving up the fight when her emotions got the better of her._

_A part of him wanted to give in and tell her everything, yet at the same time he also considered the fact that his newly learned cancer was no one else's fatal burden but his own to endure._

_"It don't matter anymore."_

_"How can you say it doesn't? You were the one who used to keep talking about the future and….."_

_"Yeah, well I say a lot when I'm drunk!!" he shouted, resorting to rely on being harsh in an effort to sever ties once and for all._

_There was simply nothing more for her to say in light of this so she just turned around and left, leaving him alone to wallow in the misery of his own tragedy._

(End of Flashback)

"If only." Sarah whispered whilst gazing at the now lifeless face of the man she still loved dearly despite the things he said to her that night.

"I love you." She added and then looked down at her stomach. It's depths possessing the one physical link to a love that perhaps needed to be brought out in the open with the truth.

------

The only thing he could think and want was her, especially now.

He couldn't bring himself to say her name nowadays because it would only bring all the memories back.

All he wanted to do was pick up the phone and be honest with her about feelings that only grew over the course of their time spent apart. The prospect of a baby only exceeding his longing to be with her, but where would that leave Tom and more importantly Sarah?

As long as there was a baby between them, he could never have the life he desperately wanted with Kate.

"What do I do?"

* * *

**What will Jack in fact do, especially "if" Sarah decides to spill the beans?**

**Next Chapter: Caleb comes up with a plan and Tom has something to ask Jack. **

_I can promise an update up by the weekend if you guys want?_


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**As promised here it is guys :)**

* * *

Discretion was her only option now for the sole benefit of her son, Calum_. _

Ever since his accident things had grown tense to say the least, but hate was the only thing she felt towards Jim, especially when he had the audacity to come home drunk and rowdy on the day Calum was released from the Hospital. The effects of his influence resulting in yet another heated argument though this one ended unlike any other.

(Two nights ago)

"_I shot him. I…..I killed him." she reminded herself in light of __what she'd done in her fit of rage when the argument got dangerously physical. Bordering on what happened the day of Calum's accident and this time she vowed that Jim wouldn't get away with it. _

_It all happened so fast and it wasn't until he fell to the floor cold that she realised what she had done. _

_The first thing she did after recovering from the shock somewhat was call him. Secretly thankful that she'd agreed to let Caleb keep Calum for the weekend. It was the least she could do after deceiving them for all these years. _

"_I need you" was all she said over__ the phone and without a second thought he proposed to be right over. After getting off the phone with her he got in touch with his neighbour, a good friend of his, asking if they could come over and watch Calum while he went go tend to a work related emergency. _

_With that agreed and thanked immensely in return, __considering the current hour of day, he quickly dressed and was then graced with a light knocking on his front door. Thanking them once again, he then set off. His mind plagued with worry the entire journey due to the distinct amount of fear he detected within her voice. He knew her well enough to know that she didn't scare easily so whatever it was it must have been pretty bad._

_When he did arrive everything seemed fairly quite and normal at first glance but that all changed once he stepped foot in the house. Lauren sitting in one of the chairs at the dining room table, her head bowed to focus on the gun currently in her right hand._

"_Lauren, what's……." Caleb barely got the chance to question her possession of the weapon before his eyes fell upon the wounded reason. _

"_My God" He naturally exclaimed before dropping down to see if there was any hint of life left within Jim. In the meanwhile telling Lauren to call the ambulance and when she failed to do so Caleb took matters into his own hands. _

_The last thing he said to Lauren before leaving with the Paramedics were "I'll take care of it." _

(End of flashback)

"I gave her my word." Caleb affirmed, mainly his doubt of being able to keep what really happened a secret.

The real question was how would he?

-------

Much to her honest dismay and discomfort Tom had clearly gotten a little ahead of himself by planning a surprise engagement party. The whole concept of it being a surprise blown out of proportion this morning when the catering company called and Kate picked up.

She thought about being angry with him for making such a big deal out of this, but in reality it was, or it was supposed to be if you were fully invested in it.

For Kate, her investment was still a subject up for debate because her heart and mind were still breathing and thinking Jack. There wasn't a doubt in her mind wishing that it was Jack who'd thrown her an engagement party or even proposed in the first place.

Although how could that even be considered a possibility when he was legally married to another woman and expecting a baby with her as well. Kate just couldn't bring herself to intrude or destroy something like that, even if it ultimately cost her, her own baby's right to know their Father.

"I have to learn to move on from this." Was her usual mantra to shut out any feelings towards Jack, but like every other time it didn't work one bit whatsoever.

Even when she said the words, "I have to move on with Tom."

It still didn't sound or feel right.

-------

In an effort to get his mind off anything Kate related, he chose to bury himself in the steadily growing pile of patient case files for the better part of the night not before checking in on Sarah one last time.

She was undoubtedly upset by Jim's death, but it was the very extent that made him worry and question at the same time.

He had done so ever since she pleaded his forgiveness when he found out about her and Jim's affair, but in light of his own infidelity at the time he chose not to dwell and make it known to her. However he was close to doing so now, especially when he walked in on Sarah professing her love towards Jim's lifeless body. Only strengthening the worry when she leaned down to kiss his still lips.

Whether her intent was closure or simply the real truth, he couldn't help but feel betrayed and honestly quite miffed at the fact that he was clearly being lied to all this time.

After all the sacrifices he had made for her and this baby, this was what he got.

As much as a part of him didn't want to confront her in an effort to give her the necessary time to grieve, the other part somehow didn't seem to care anymore in light of what he'd just heard her profess.

Refraining from slamming the door behind him to convey his anger, he resorted to a calm yet distinctive slam, gaining her immediate attention.

"Hey." She started out while wiping her tears away and letting go of Jim's hand. The quickness of the action not escaping Jack's observation in the slightest.

Seeing no reason to give up the game just yet however Jack played along with a regarding nod though grew alarmed when she suddenly became frantic.

"What time is it?"

"A little after 10" he replied after checking his watch, completely calm on the outside yet the inside was a different story altogether.

"Crap. My Doctor's appointment was at 9.30….." she revealed, her voice dripping with nothing but stress for the obvious reason. However much to her surprise Jack failed to offer anything other than his silence and she was admittedly taken aback by it.

Never the less she went onto request as to whether Jack could put in a good word with her Doctor and see if he could still fit her in for an appointment today, but much to her shock he simply said "No."

"No?" she challenged with nothing but absurdity in regards to his negligence.

"No as in I'm not going to let you play this game with me anymore Sarah." He explained evoking her confusion facially yet at the same time she sensed where this was heading.

"What are you talking about Jack?"

"Do I really need to spell it out for you or was that not you professing your undying love to Jim a few minutes ago." He shot at her, his tone accusatory and he felt that he had every right to be.

"You know that I cared a lot about Jim Jack. How can you go so low and accuse me of….."

"Of what? Still being in love with him and God knows what else all this time." He cut her off and deliberately cast a brief glance towards her belly when saying the last part.

Sarah, catching sight of it immediately went on the defence to fight for her decency rather than her innocence.

"Don't do this Jack." She warned hoping that he would back down, but it only seemed to spur his aggravation.

"Don't what Sarah? Assume that maybe this baby isn't mine after all."

Opting to dodge the accusation, she then moved on to her next resort which was to palm the blame where she felt it rooted from.

"You'd do anything to go back to her wouldn't you?"

"Don't you dare bring her into this!!" he hissed, immediately assuming her implication and more than ready to strike her down.

"Why not? You and I both know that if it weren't for her then we wouldn't be in this situation. I would not have met Jim and……."

"If it weren't for her Sarah then this marriage would have ended a long time ago."

"So what's stopping you Jack?" she challenged knowing that this could very well end of her one pillar of stability, more so financially. Still she wanted to know what it was that was still keeping him around.

"Is this baby mine Sarah?" he opted to get straight to the point and confirm his suspicions once and for all.

"I don't have to explain…."

"Quit it with the stalling Sarah and just answer the damn question. Am I the Father of this baby?"

Truth or stability?

Which choice would she opt for?

-------

He was in a reasonably good mood as he strolled into the Hospital looking for none other than…..

"Jack." Tom called out and Jack was somewhat responsive in return.

"Hey." Jack replied and Tom immediately sense that something was up.

"Is everything alright?" he asked and grew alarmed when Jack failed to answer him at first. That was until realization of Sarah's confession finally caught up with him.

"I'm great." Jack offered aided by the hint of a genuine smile, but unfortunately the carefree feeling was short lived when Tom invited him to his engagement party.

Much to Tom's surprise Jack accepted the invite, a little too eagerly for Tom's liking.

"Are you sure you're alright Jack?"

"Absolutely" came Jack's truthful response. He was a free man now and that meant he could finally pursue the life he really wanted.

"So I'll see you tomorrow at 6."

It was only then that Jack considered Tom. However would Tom urge him to abandon his plans, especially after having finally been granted the opportunity?"

* * *

**Next Chapter: The Engagement party……**


End file.
